


Bus Stop

by My_Trex_has_fleas



Category: Poldark - All Media Types, Return to Treasure Island (TV 1996)
Genre: Bus, Explicit Sexual Content, Interns & Internships, Libraries, M/M, Very Secret Diary, the 59 if you're interested
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-12
Updated: 2017-03-18
Packaged: 2018-09-23 20:30:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 24,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9675002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/My_Trex_has_fleas/pseuds/My_Trex_has_fleas
Summary: There's a new guy on Jim's bus route and he's proving to be very distracting.Fill for the Gathering FiKi Winter Fandom Raffle Exchange Prompt. No. 162 - I fell in love with your handwriting.For Gemma - you are possibly the worst enabler in the world and I love you.





	1. Day One

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Miss_Gemmie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miss_Gemmie/gifts).



Jim double checked he had his bus pass before he left the house, picked up his bag and went to work. It was a twenty minute bus ride from his flat to the British Library here he worked as a conservator under the Head Curator, a stern faced man named Jonathan Silver. He was fierce and demanding and had taken Jim under his wing to teach him all he knew. That in itself made the job extremely rewarding but it also made for long hours and the sacrifice of any kind of social life that Jim had. 

If he was being honest with himself though, it hadn’t been much to begin with. Jim wasn’t exactly sociable, preferring to spend his evenings at home in his flat reading a good book and tucked on the sofa with a cup of tea and a plate of chocolate digestives at his elbow. It was a source of some frustration to Tom and Ben, his friends at work. 

The fact that he was gay also didn’t help matters. Jim hated the scenes he found in clubs and would rather have died than use Grindr. His introverted nature was horrified at the thought of having a stranger come into his house, and so unfortunately for him sex was a rather infrequent activity. Jim made do with his hand and a Cockyboys subscription instead, but some days he longed for actual contact with a person. 

He’d always had a vivid imagination so he channelled a lot of his frustration into his writing instead. He had published a few small pieces and was now working on something longer, but he also had another outlet in the form of a black A4 Moleskine journal which held the writing that he never showed to anyone else. 

He got to the bus stop, grinning to himself at the thought of what his friends would do if they knew about what he secretly referred to as his sex diary. It was filled with his dreams and the fantasies that had a way of attacking him at the worst possible time. 

The bus stop was filled with the usual assortment of commuters to be found in London on a Monday morning. Jim looked at the others in their suited and booted business wear and counted himself lucky that he had no dress code for work and could wear what he chose. That morning it consisted of jeans, Converse, a soft grey t-shirt and an even softer grey cardigan over it. Tom and Ben liked to tease him for dressing like a middle aged writer, but Jim preferred comfort over style. 

The bus arrived and Jim took his pass out of his hand and stood in line to get on, holding it to the reader and then going to get his usual seat at the back. He put his ear buds in, music drowning out the world around him and took his kindle out of his messenger bag and turned it on. He was halfway through Stormy Weather and he was just getting back into it when the bus doors closed and the bus started to pull away. 

Something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention and Jim lowered the kindle to see a man running alongside the bus and yelling. Jim smiled to himself, knowing that in London bus drivers had the most amazing ability to ignore you even when you were right in front of them so when the bus actually slowed and came to a stop, he was more than a little surprised. 

The man got on, panting and thanking the bus driver effusively as he dug around in his pocket for his wallet, which he then pressed to the reader. He started to make his way towards the back of the bus and that was when Jim blinked. 

He normally didn’t stare at people in public, but he really couldn’t help himself. The guy was gorgeous – tall and dark haired and stubbly in that annoyingly fashionable way that Jim could never get right. He was wearing black skinny jeans and work boots that were unlaced at the top, a red and black plaid shirt over a t-shirt with a band name on the front that Jim had never heard of and a black leather jacket. He looked like the hipster stereotype to end all stereotypes. 

Jim watched him take the last two stairs in one leap before he swung himself into the seat next to him, much to his consternation. He did a discreet shuffle against the window to put some space between them, and got a brilliant smile. 

‘That was lucky.’ Hipster Dude had perfect cut glass annunciation, no doubt the product of an incredibly exclusive public school. ‘I thought he wasn’t going to stop.’ 

Jim gave him a weak smile and tried not to inhale too deeply. The man smelled amazing, a deep woody scent cut with something sharp. He watched out of the corner of his eye as the man dug out a pair of overlarge headphones and put them on. He had his music turned up so loud Jim was tempted to give him a lecture on premature deafness and the tinny thump told him it was probably some house DJ he’d never heard of. 

The rest of the ride was torture. Jim winced every time they went around a corner and the momentum forced him to lean into the man next to him. It definitely didn’t help his cause to discover that the man’s arm was solid muscle and the resistance between them made Jim feel things he really shouldn’t. 

They finally came to his stop and Jim moved slightly in the time honoured tradition of British public transport to indicate that he needed to get up. The man next to him got up as well and let Jim out of his seat and Jim gave him a quick smile of thanks. To his horror, he got one back. 

‘Nice glasses.’ the man remarked, hazel eyes dancing, and now Jim knew his face was heating up, could feel the blush stealing into his cheeks and making him look like a complete idiot. 

‘Thanks.’ he found himself muttering and stumbling past him with his head down. 

It was only after he’d nearly fallen off the bus in his rush to get away that Jim realised that the man was also getting off behind him. He started walking in the direction of the library but he did cast a surreptitious glance across the road to where Hipster Dude was jaywalking through the morning traffic and giving a black cab the two finger salute when it honked at him. 

Jim watched as the man got to the door of the massive glass and steel building on the corner and went in. It was the home to one of London’s up and coming publishing houses, specialising in edgy modern fiction. That somehow did not really surprise him. 

**********

The rest of the day saw Jim unsettled and distracted by thoughts of dark hair and hazel eyes. He replayed the exchange over and over in his head, and by the time Tom and Ben came to get him for lunch, Jim was in a proper tizzy. 

‘You all right, mate?’ Tom asked as they waited for their orders in the dingy hole-in-the-wall pub down the road. Jim didn’t normally drink while he was at work but he was feeling so out of sorts that he thought a pint might take the edge off. 

‘It’s been a weird kind of day.’ he muttered and sipped his beer. The sound of laughter caught his ear and he turned and saw a group of people coming into the pub. 

Hipster Guy was right in the middle of them. 

Jim watched as they went and occupied the large table in the corner, giggling and chatting too loudly. 

‘Bloody hipsters.’ Ben snorted. Like Tom and Jim he was a dedicated history nerd. ‘Christ. Now they’ve found this place we won’t get a moment’s peace.’

‘Where are they from?’ Tom asked. 

‘They’re all interning at Cooper and Black.’ Ben grumbled. ‘Mark in 21st Literature told me.’

‘Crap.’ Tom glared at them over his shoulder. ‘Arseholes.’

Jim said nothing, too busy trying to look like he wasn’t looking at the head of dark curls at the far side of the table. He could hear Hipster Guy laughing, a deep braying laugh that shouldn’t have been as cute as it was. 

He was screwed.

**********

Close of play couldn’t come too soon and Jim bolted out the building and to the bus stop, desperately hoping Hipster Guy worked late and he could avoid him. Thankfully he wasn’t in the group of commuters and Jim got onto the bus and took his seat at the back. 

He did look out the window as he put his earphones in, wondering about the man he’d met that day. There was no way someone like that would ever look at someone like him. He didn’t even know if the guy was gay or not. Jim could never tell. He sighed and moped all the way home, getting off at the stop down the road from his flat. It was in a very nice purpose built block dating back to the Art Deco period. 

Jim climbed the front steps and unlocked the door, stopping to collect his mail as he made the walk up to his flat. He got to his front door and let himself in, hanging his bag up on the coat hook and kicking off his shoes. 

He put his ipod in his docking system and put on a soothing playlist while he fed his fish and got started on dinner. He hummed along as he made cabonara from scratch and then took it into the living room with a glass of white wine to eat at his small table while he flicked through the TV schedule on his tablet and thought about what to watch. 

The whole time though, there was a little itch in the back of his mind. Jim pushed it away, refusing to give into it. 

He finished eating and cleaned up, then went to watch TV. The whole time though, he was plagued with thoughts that had nothing to do with Grand Designs. Eventually Jim huffed and got up, not able to stifle the feelings anymore. 

This called for drastic action. 

Jim switched off everything in the living room and went into his bedroom to his bedside table. He opened the drawer and took out his notebook. He opened it while he reached for the pen also in the drawer and flicked through the pages to a clean one. 

This was his dirty little secret. Jim was a man of words and when something like this took hold of him, he found the best way to counteract it was to write it out. 

So he did.

It turned into a filthy eight page tale culminating in him sprawled on his sofa, sweaty and mussed and naked except for his glasses while his man from the bus fucked him until he could hardly walk. 

Jim capped his pen and chucked the notebook and it back in the drawer, then reached for the lube that was also in there. He was stupidly riled up, hard as fuck and barely able to hang on while he got his jeans undone and his hand on himself. It took barely five minutes and when Jim came it was with an intensity that took his breath away and left his heart pounding in his chest. He got up and stomped into the bathroom to shower and get ready for bed. 

The last thing Jim thought when he turned out the light was that he really hoped he wouldn’t run into the man again. He didn’t think he could take it looking at that gorgeous face every morning. Not to mention that he’d been badly distracted all day. He huffed and turned over, pulling the duvet up to his ears and tried not to think about hazel eyes while he went to sleep.


	2. Day Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of progress is made.

It got worse.

Hipster Guy had beaten him to the bus stop the next morning and he gave Jim a cheery grin as Jim got there. Jim, bought up to be unfailingly polite, smiled back as best he could but had trouble meeting the man’s eyes. After all, he’d been thinking of him in the most compromising of positions and Jim was sure the guilt was written all over his face.

Thankfully the bus arrived before he could be approached and Jim purposely chose the only single seat at the front, instead of his usual place at the back. Hipster Guy walked by him and Jim could have sworn that he saw disappointment flicker in the dark eyes for just a second. 

Jim got his kindle out, but he spent just as much time surreptitiously watching Hipster Guy at the back of the bus as he did attempting to read. He saw that he’d engaged the person next to him in conversation and was chatting away, that generous mouth stretching in an insanely attractive smile as he talked in an animated fashion, waving his hands around. 

Jim looked at him out of the corner of his eye. Today’s jeans were grey and matched with a dark navy and black plaid shirt over a t-shirt with a faded Rolling Stones tongue on the front. The wild dark curls were pulled back into a knot at the back of Hipster Guy’s head and it showed off those sharp cheekbones and dark eyes to perfection. 

The bus finally reached their stop and Jim toyed with the idea of maybe lingering and actually talking to him, but he chickened out at the last minute and jogged off in the direction of the library before the man got off the bus. 

The morning dragged and Jim found himself staring into space on more than one occasion. Tom took the piss out of him a few times and Jim took the opportunity to escape at lunch time and head down to the coffee shop to pick them up a couple of pulled pork sandwiches and coffee which they would have in the garden out the back of the building.

It was busy and he joined the queue without really looking, too engrossed in checking his phone. When he looked up though, Jim saw a familiar head of dark hair and a pair of broad shoulders a few people in front of him and cringed. This was the last thing he needed. 

He shifted from one foot to the other, chewing on a nail as he watched the man get to the counter and place his order. He was digging through his pocket and then dumped a handful of change on the counter. The barista looked less than impressed and gave him a withering glare as she announced that he was a Pound short. Hipster Guy looked at a loss and Jim was somewhat alarmed when his body seemed to take over and he found himself walking up to the counter before he could stop himself. 

‘Here.’ He held out the Pound coin he’d taken from his own pocket. Hipster Guy turned with a look of surprise on his face that quickly morphed into a sunny smile. 

‘Hi.’ He looked very pleased to see Jim, but that may well have been the Pound talking. Jim was now appalled at his own forward behaviour.

‘Here.’ he repeated, holding out the change to him. Hipster Guy extended a hand and Jim gave him the money. As he did, their fingers brushed and it was like an electric shock going through him. Hipster Guy’s hazel eyes were now shining. 

‘Thanks.’ he grinned. 

‘No problem.’ Jim blurted and quickly moved back into line. He glanced up and heard the barista talking to the man. 

‘Name?’ She sounded bored by the whole process.

‘Ross.’ Hipster Guy said and that set Jim’s heart pounding. His crush now had a name. 

Thankfully the man he now knew was called Ross didn’t hang around after he got his coffee and Jim got to the counter and placed his order. He paid and waited for the brown paper bag containing the sandwiches and the cardboard holder with the two coffees, one for him and the other for Tom. 

He came out the shop and started walking back to the library. It was only when a shadow fell across his path that Jim realised someone had fallen into step beside him. 

‘So.’ Ross was smiling at him. ‘You saved me back there.’ 

Jim didn’t know what to do so he looked away, abashed. 

‘Really, it was nothing.’ He was torn between wanting to get over himself and actually have a conversation and hightailing it back to the safety of his workshop and never coming out again. Terrified of making an idiot of himself, he resolutely avoided eye contact and even sped up a little. However, Ross had long legs and kept pace with him easily. 

‘Do you work around here?’ he asked and Jim realised he was trying to engage him in conversation. Caught off guard, he answered. 

‘At the library.’ He didn’t want to stop, knowing he’d be lost. ‘And I really need to get back.’ He knew he sounded brusque, but Ross didn’t seem to take offence. If anything, his smile grew brighter. 

‘The British Library?’ He sounded enthralled. ‘That is seriously cool. What do you do there?’

‘I’m a conservator.’ Jim replied, still bemused as to what was happening. He affected looking at his watch. ‘And my lunch hour is almost done so I really have to go.’

‘Okay.’ Ross didn’t sound in the least bit put out. ‘But I am only going to let you go if you answer me one question.’ 

That actually brought Jim up short and he slowed. 

‘Depends on what the question is.’ He was wary. 

‘Well, I was just wondering something.’ Ross reached out and then Jim felt his hand on his wrist. Ross moved his hand so he could peer at the names written on the cups. ‘Are you Tom or are you Jim?’ His eyes were suddenly intense and Jim found himself wanting to drown in them. He took a step back, for safety. 

‘Jim.’ His mouth was dry and he could feel how his pulse was racing. 

‘Good to know.’ Ross’ hazel eyes now had a wicked gleam in them. ‘Nice to meet you, Jim.’ 

With that he took off across the road, holding up traffic and generally causing mayhem as he left Jim standing with his mouth hanging open in surprise at what that might mean. 

********

Jim finally managed to get back to work but his afternoon quickly went to shit. He was now so distracted that he did the unthinkable and feigned a headache. His normal diligence was rewarded when Silver told him to pop off home early and Jim jumped at the chance and grabbed his things before leaving the building and going to catch the bus, safe in the knowledge and there was no way he’d run into Ross. 

He was mistaken. 

Jim got on and moved to the seat right at the back. Just as the doors were about to close, however, someone threw themselves into the bus and wedged himself between them.

The bus driver huffed and opened them again and Ross fell through into the bus. 

‘Cheers, mate.’ He sounded as cheerful as he always seemed to be and he scanned the bus, then saw Jim. 

Jim hunched down, cursing his luck and Ross loped to the back of the bus and fell into the seat in front of him so he could sit sideways and grin at Jim. 

‘So what exactly does a conservator do at the British Museum?’ he asked, picking up the conversation like they had just been speaking, the smallest lilt in his voice. 

‘Conserve books.’ Jim was at a loss as to how to deal with this. 

‘Yeah?’ Ross leaned his chin on his hands laid along the back of his seat. ‘That sounds interesting.’

‘It can be.’ Jim couldn’t help staring at those fingers that had brushed his earlier. His brain scratched around desperately for something to say. ‘What do you do at the publishing house?’

‘I intern.’ Ross was smiling. ‘Get coffee, send out mail – all the boring shit.’ His eyes were sparkling. ‘How did you know I work there though? Have you been stalking me?’

‘God, no.’ Jim blurted it out, feeling himself go red. 

‘Relax.’ Ross laughed. ‘I’m just joking. But seriously though, what is your job exactly?’

‘I fix books that need it.’ Jim shrugged. ‘We clean them and bind them back up and make them look like they should.’

‘That sounds fascinating.’ Jim searched Ross’ face for signs that he was taking the mickey, but found nothing but sincerity. ‘Is it difficult?’

‘Not if you’re properly trained.’ Jim could feel himself starting to relax the tiniest bit as the conversation got into familiar territory. ‘But it can be quite a complex process.’ 

Ross shifted and smiled. His eyes were warm, like amber and gold and green mixed together, and Jim felt himself getting a little flustered as he looked into them. 

‘But rewarding.’ He sighed. ‘I love books. Guess you know how that feels.’

‘Yeah, but what you do is different.’ Jim said. ‘Your books are now.’ 

‘Well, they will be if I ever get a job.’ Ross laughed. ‘I want to edit one day, but it’s a long road to tread.’ He looked at Jim steadily and then started to say something, but he was interrupted by the sound of the automated voice announcing their stop. 

‘Well, this is us.’ He knew it was corny as fuck, but couldn’t think of anything else to say. Ross looked out the window and moved to pick up his bag. 

Jim followed him down the aisle and out and then stood there awkwardly as Ross turned and lifted a hand. 

‘I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.’ He sounded hopeful. 

‘Okay.’ Jim couldn’t help the smile that was threatening to split his face. He turned and started walking down the road, noticing that Ross was still watching him when he turned the corner. 

He got home without incident, stopping off at the Sainsburys local to pick up a pint of milk and three slabs of peppermint Aero. The walk home was accompanied by his raging hormones, which had refused to subside the whole way to his front door. 

Jim spent the rest of the evening in a state of unrest, his thoughts consumed with the conversation from the coffee shop and the bus ride home. 

It got to bed time and he knew that there was no way he was going to get to sleep, not with all the thoughts rattling around in his brain. It was no surprise when the notebook came out again and he threw himself into it. 

Tonight’s scenario was focused on those long fingers. Jim wrote out a long scene of him on the bed with Ross stretched out next to him, two fingers inside him as he nailed Jim’s prostate and kissed him slowly, drawing things out until Jim could hardly stand it and came, body convulsing around them. It got him a lot hotter than he’d expected it would and he eventually chucked the notebook aside and dug the lube out, kicking off his clothes until he was naked on his bed, his cock already rock hard. 

Jim turned the light off and popped the cap on the lube. He used a lot and started slow, turning on his side and hiking one knee up to make it easier. He didn’t bother messing around, knowing his body well enough to realise he was already stupidly turned on. He eased one finger in, gasping at how it felt. It had been a good six months since his last encounter, so Jim closed his eyes and thought back to the warm hazel eyes and a wide generous mouth he’d been thinking about all day. 

He kept his pace steady, working himself loose until he could add another finger and then sped up, his panting growing loud in his room. He thrust down against the bed, the dual stimulation making it intense as he brought himself up and slowed down again and again. He let his imagination race out of control, thinking about how it would feel if it was Ross’ fingers driving him insane instead of his own, what the taste of Ross’ mouth would be like. 

He imagined it going further, Ross moving over him. His eyes would be dark, glittering in the half light of his room and his cock would be hard and thick and when he pushed in, it would feel so good. 

Jim whined into his pillow, going for more lube and then pumping his hand hard. He abandoned all pretense of control, moaning out loud and pushing back into his own fingers until he couldn’t take anymore and moved his other hand to his cock. It only took a little while. When he came, Jim had to shout into the pillow while his body tightened convulsively around his fingers. He moaned far louder than he thought he could ever be, fantasies of Ross coming inside him dancing in his head. 

He lay there, battling for breath as he eased his fingers out. The duvet was a mess underneath him and he cursed the fact that he’d been in such a state he hadn’t put a towel down first. He was being most out of character. 

He finally managed to get up and walked on wobbly legs to the bathroom to clean himself up and then spent fifteen minutes changing the duvet cover, annoyed with himself for the fact that this was two days in a row. 

He really needed to get out more. 

**********

Five streets along and three streets down, Ross looked up as the front door of his flat opened and his cousin Francis came in looking tired. He worked for an international company that meant he kept rather odd business hours. 

‘Good day?’ he asked and Francis huffed and slumped onto the sofa next to him. 

‘I fucking hate having to deal with different time zones.’ he muttered, then turned his head and looked at Ross. ‘What have you been up to?’

Ross waved the remote at the TV. 

‘Bake Off.’ he offered by way of explanation. Francis looked at him more carefully and then grinned. 

‘You see hot bus guy today?’ he asked and Ross smiled. 

‘I did one better.’ He quirked his eyebrows at Francis. ‘I got his name.’

‘Christ.’ Francis chuckled. ‘Does this mean you’re actually making progress?’ 

Ross thought about bright blue-green eyes behind tortoiseshell glasses, blond hair and how cute Jim looked in his navy cardigan. 

‘I fucking hope so.’ he replied.


	3. Day Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's raining and Ross doesn't have an umbrella, quel surprise :D

Wednesday saw Jim staring out his kitchen window at the rain as he washed up his breakfast dishes. He sighed and went to get dressed, trading out his converse for his boots instead and swapping his cardigan up for a thicker one and then throwing his jacket over it as he left the flat and locked up.

He jogged down the stairs, taking his umbrella out of his bag and opening it on the front step. The rain was relentless, and he huffed as he started walking to the bus stop. The pavement was almost one continuous puddle and Jim took some childish delight in stamping through them more than was strictly necessary.

He had his head down under his umbrella, but lifted it when he got to the bus stop. There was a group of people all crowed underneath it, London’s usual social mores forgotten in the face of torrential rain. Jim stood to the side and well back from the road. He was also schooled in the art of not getting swamped in a tidal wave thrown up by the bus.

A tall figure materialised out of the rain, running and almost careering right into Jim. He looked into hazel eyes and saw bedraggled dark curls.

‘Ross?’ It was out of his mouth before he could stop it.

‘Dammit.’ Ross took refuge under Jim’s umbrella, shaking like a wet dog. ‘It’s bloody wet out.’

‘Yeah, I noticed that.’ Jim couldn’t resist raising an eyebrow at him. Ross was dressed pretty much the same as he had been the day before except now there was a lemon yellow hoodie under the jacket. Still it wasn’t much of a concession to the weather. ‘Don’t you own a raincoat or something?’

‘Or something.’ Ross was smiling but his teeth were also chattering so much he sounded like a pair of maracas. ‘It’s just a little bit of rain.’

‘You’re going to get sick.’ Jim chided. ‘Here.’ He shuffled over so Ross could fit properly under the umbrella with him.

‘I never get sick.’ Ross retorted and then sneezed. He grinned sheepishly at Jim.

‘You’re a wanker.’ Jim laughed and then went red as he realised how that could be misconstrued. Thankfully, his cutting remark got a brilliant smile that was bright enough to chase the gloomy day away all by itself.

‘Yeah?’ Ross stepped in a little closer and Jim got a wave of that delicious aftershave. ‘Then what does that make you seeing as you’re letting me share your umbrella?’ His dark eyes were fixed on Jim and Jim found himself smiling.

‘Not sure.’ He shrugged.

‘You know you’re really fucking cute when you smile.’ Ross said and that made Jim’s eyes go wide and look up at him.

‘Oh?’ He was so taken aback, he was pretty sure he’d just forgotten how to speak.

‘Yeah.’ Ross tilted his head, considering. ‘Those dimples are something else.’ His smile grew wider. ‘Bet they drive girls crazy.’

‘I wouldn’t know.’ Jim looked away as he said it, his heart now pounding wildly.

‘No?’ Ross shifted from one foot to the other. ‘Me either.’ He gave Jim a look that had more than a hint of shyness in it and that surprised Jim a great deal.

‘Oh.’ He swallowed nervously. ‘So you’re…’

‘Yeah.’ Ross smiled at him. ‘Thought that might have been pretty obvious from how hard I seem to be trying and failing to flirt with you.’ He gave an abashed chuckle and lifted one hand to rake his finger through his wet curls.

‘You’re not failing.’ Jim blurted the words out. ‘I mean, I noticed. I just thought…’ He trailed off.

‘What?’ Ross asked and Jim debated finishing the thought and then shook his head.

‘Nothing.’ He saw the bus approaching and nodded in its direction. Ross turned to look at it and grinned.

‘To be continued.’ he said and the endearing cockiness was back. Now Jim gave him a proper smile, completely charmed in spite of himself.

‘If you don’t dissolve first.’ he pointed out and that made Ross laugh.

‘Guess you’ll just have to keep me dry.’ He walked in step with Jim towards the bus.

‘Too late.’ Jim replied and waved him on in front of him. This time he didn’t try and run away, but followed Ross to the back. He did leave a seat’s worth of gap between them, seeing as how Ross was actually saturated but Ross didn’t seem to mind.

Unfortunately it did leave a gap which was spotted by a latecomer on the bus and they inadvertently ended up separated. Jim saw Ross peer around the intruder, a rather portly gentleman, and he gave Jim a regretful smile. Jim laughed and shook his head at him.

They rode the rest of the way to work, giving each other conspiratorial smiles behind the man’s back until they got to their stop. Thankfully the rain had abated when they got off and Ross turned to Jim.

‘So will I have the pleasure of your company on the return trip?’ he asked. ‘I have something I want to ask you.’

That made Jim simultaneously panic and almost hyperventilate in excitement.

‘Okay.’ He raised a hand. ‘I’ll see you later then.’

‘Later.’ Ross gave him a final smile and then went to cross the road.

Jim watched him go and then walked to his building, swiping his pass and going in. He made his way up to the third floor and the office that he shared with Silver and Tom at the back of the building which overlooked the gardens at the rear.

Tom was at his desk, chuckling at something on Reddit. He grinned at Jim and then looked at him curiously.

‘Okay who is he?’ he asked and Jim nearly fell over in surprise. For Tom to notice, he must be smiling like some sort of deranged person.

‘Who is who?’ He tried to bluff his way out of the exchange but Tom laughed and waged his finger at him.

‘You have met someone.’ He sounded smug. ‘I can tell.’

‘Christ.’ Jim went to his desk and dumped his bag on the top. ‘He’s a guy I met on the bus.’

‘The bus?’ Tom chortled. ‘Isn’t that a bit rom-com?’

‘You’re telling me.’ Jim sat down and turned on his computer. ‘But he seems nice.’

‘And so you’re no doubt doing what you always do and running a hundred kilometres in the opposite direction, right?’ Tom was giving him an infuriating grin.

‘No.’ Jim knew he sounded defensive as hell. He hunched his shoulders and refused to look behind him as he opened his email.

‘You are.’ Tom got up and came to perch on the desk next to him. ‘Is he fit?’

‘I don’t think you’d be able to appreciate the answer.’ Jim replied, now tapping away furiously in a bid to make Tom go away. ‘And I have work to do.’

‘I can appreciate a good looking man.’ Tom protested. ‘I don’t need to be gay to know if they are good looking.’ He picked up a pen and twirled it in his fingers. ‘And you reaction is telling me that not only is he fit, but also that you fancy the pants off him.’

‘Shit.’ Jim huffed and slumped back in his chair. ‘If I say yes, will you bugger off and leave me alone?’

‘No.’ Tom was smiling broadly. He dug his mobile out of his pocket and fired off a text. ‘Have you got his number? You can meet him for lunch.’

‘No.’ Jim sighed. ‘I don’t. But he did say he would see me on the bus later. Apparently he has something he wants to ask me.’

‘Bet it’s if you fuck on the first date.’ Tom snickered.

‘Which I don’t.’ Jim retorted. ‘And don’t even think of doing anything that you are thinking about.’

‘Where does he work?’ Tom asked, ignoring his warning completely. ‘You do know that, right?’

‘I’m not telling you.’ Jim folded his arms. ‘You’re only going to laugh at me.’

‘I promise I will not laugh at you.’ Tim’s green eyes were sparkling with mirth. ‘At least not a lot.’

‘He works at the publishing house.’ Jim muttered and braced himself for the inevitable piss taking.

‘All right?’ Ben’s voice came from the doorway where he was now leaning, grinning at them. ‘So what’s this I hear about a man on a bus?’

‘Jim fancies one of those bloody hipsters from Cooper and Black.’ Tom laughed and Jim made a frustrated noise and gave up.

‘Really?’ Ben was now smiling. ‘Isn’t that a little bit of an odd match?’ He laughed. ‘You’re hardly the most on-trend person.’

‘Oh bugger off.’ Jim snapped, now shaking his head. ‘I’m sorry I said anything.’

‘So, this muppet hasn’t got any way to contact him.’ Tom explained to Ben. ‘Which is why I called you down here. We’re going hunting at lunch time.’

‘No.’ Jim glared at them. ‘We fucking are not bloody going hunting.’

‘Yes, we are.’ Ben grinned and came over to stand next to them. ‘Where does he normally hang out?’

‘I’ve only seen him at the pub and the coffee shop.’ Jim knew he was on a hiding to nothing.

‘Great.’ Tom declared. ‘Lunch time’s sorted then.’

********

Ross got cornered in the small kitchenette on the fifth floor by a pair of grinning faces. He looked at them and then grinned.

‘So I got to share his umbrella today.’ he said and Demelza and Elizabeth exchanged looks.

‘Well, that’s a step in the right direction.’ Demelza said.

‘Absolutely.’ Elizabeth agreed. ‘So what’s next?’

‘I’m going to ask him for his number this afternoon.’ Ross replied, adding milk to his coffee.

‘Maybe not.’ Elizabeth pulled a face. ‘I overheard Warleggan saying that he was going to be making us all work late.’

‘What?’ Ross was crestfallen. ‘But…’

‘Poldark!’ the word was bellowed form across the office and they all jumped. Carey Warleggan was not someone to be kept waiting.

‘Crap.’ Ross picked up his mug and gave them both a roll of his eyes. ‘I’ll see you for lunch.’

He was wrong on that count. Warleggan was on the warpath and he had Ross at his desk straight through lunch and the dragged him with to a meeting with an author in the afternoon. Ross had had no choice but to go with, carrying contracts and laptops and spending the whole afternoon clock-watching in a flashy London flat in Shadwell.

By the time he got back, it was well after seven and he knew that Jim would be long gone.

It was enough to put him in a foul mood, and he stomped out of the building and made his way to the bus stop. He stood and waited and then looked up as the rain started to fall once again.

**********

Jim sat on his windowsill, mug of tea in hand.

He was morose, all his disappointment from not having been able to find Ross at lunchtime compounding when he hadn’t been at the bus stop either.

His phone buzzed and Jim dug it out of his pocket and looked at it. There was a message from Tom.

_U find him?_

Jim sighed and texted back.

_No. He wasn’t on the bus._

_Bollocks._

_Yeah. Maybe he changed his mind._

He waited for a reply and then the phone rang. He huffed and answered it.

‘Maybe he got busy.’ Tom’s voice was almost drowned out by laughter in the background and Jim knew he was obviously at the pub.

‘Maybe.’ he mumbled. ‘Or maybe he changed his mind.’

‘I doubt that.’ Tom tried to sound reassuring, but the noise level was drowning him out. ‘You want to come down the Weasel with us?’

‘No.’ Jim sighed. ‘I’m not in the mood.’

‘It’ll be good.’ Tom tried to convince him.

‘It’s Wednesday, Tom.’ Jim replied. ‘And you know how shit I am with a hangover.’

‘Fine. I’ll see you tomorrow then.’ Tom hung up.

Jim let his head fall back against the wall and tapped the backs of his fingers against the window pane.

He was upset, maybe even a little bit angry with himself. He should have known better than to get his hopes up. Now he was sulking because Ross had not materialised on the bus and he was obsessing very slightly about what he’d wanted to ask him.

He blew out a breath in annoyance and got off the window sill, deciding that he needed a another cup of tea.

*********

This time it was Francis on the sofa when Ross got home.

‘You’re late.’ He remarked and Ross pulled a face.

‘Bloody Warleggan.’ he grumbled. ‘He’s such an overstuffed, pompous arsehole. And he makes me do all the bloody work.’

‘Well, George isn’t much better.’ Francis replied. He just so happened, by unhappy coincidence to work with Warleggan’s son at his firm.

‘I was supposed to meet Jim on the bus after work.’ Ross flopped down on the sofa. ‘I was going to ask him to have coffee with me.’ He snorted in annoyance. ‘Now, he probably thinks I stood him up.’

‘You’ll see him tomorrow though.’ Francis tried to mollify him.

‘Yeah, if he speaks to me again.’ Ross kicked one boot against the coffee table. ‘Fuck.’

‘I’ll make us some tea.’ Francis moved to get up, patting Ross’ knee as he did so. ‘And don’t worry. I’m sure he’s not going to be put out.’

‘I wish I had your conviction.’ Ross muttered.

*********

Bedtime came and Jim went to shower.

He leaned his forehead against the tile and closed his eyes as he thought about Ross and how he’d looked that morning.

In spite of how he was feeling, Jim couldn’t help the feeling that crept up on him completely unbidden. Ross had looked good, his dark hair in wet tangles and raindrops in his eyelashes.

Jim inhaled deeply, running one hand across his stomach. His skin was soapy and slippery and he could feel his thoughts tripping off by themselves.

_Ross would be behind him, one hand running down his back between Jim’s shoulder blades. He would come in close enough for Jim to feel his uneven breathing, pressing kisses to his shoulders before he gently pushed Jim’s head to the side to get better access. He would kiss along the side of Jim’s neck, using just the lightest touch of teeth and Jim would lean back into him._

_Ross’ cock would be hard, curving upwards against his back, and Jim’s body would respond in kind. He would turn his head just enough for Ross to kiss him, that generous mouth and quick tongue making his pulse stutter and his chest heave as his breathing became erratic._

_He would feel Ross’ hands running down his sides, coming to rest on his hips as he pulled Jim in back against him. He would thrust up against him, cock sliding over Jim’s backside. Jim would bite back a moan and bring both arms up to around Ross’ neck so they were plastered against each other. Now Ross’ hand was coming up over his chest to thumb at a nipple, the other one making its way down to wrap long elegant fingers around his cock, stroking him in a torturously slow rhythm._

_Jim would let his head fall back against Ross’ shoulder, now too far gone to keep the sounds he wanted to make inside. He would moan and pant, getting louder as Ross took him up and up until he came all over his hand._

Jim shuddered as his little fantasy drew to a close and then stared down at the mess on his hand. It seemed even a botched assignation was enough to fuel his brain.  
He huffed and washed himself off, then got out. He dried off and dressed in his pyjama pants and went to bed, pulling a t-shirt over his head.

Once in bed, he took his notebook out and started writing and smiled as he embellished the story. It got rougher and more detailed and by the time he was done, Jim had filled twelve pages.

He sighed and chucked the notebook back in the drawer, turned over and burrowed under the duvet. His last thought before he went to sleep was that he really hoped Ross would be on the bus the next day.


	4. Day Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lunch and an invitation.

Ross made sure he was up early and dressed and ready to leave the flat so that he could get to the bus stop in good time.

He got to the stop and waited impatiently, looking up the street that Jim had gone down towards his own home. Sure enough, he soon spotted him.

Jim had his head down, earphones in. His glasses had slid down his nose and today he was wearing a light grey cardigan over a red t-shirt with the Flash logo on the front.

Ross felt the little burst of excitement inside him grow exponentially as Jim got closer and closer. When he was in range, he decided to take the bull by the horns and went to intercept him. Jim almost bumped into him before he realised Ross was standing there and the look of delighted surprise on his face made all of Ross’ anguish at having stood him up evaporate. He gave Jim his most brilliant smile and was immensely pleased when it was returned, dimples lighting up Jim’s face.

‘Hi.’ he greeted brightly and Jim laughed ruefully.

‘I should be pissed off at you.’ he stated and Ross’ smile faltered a little.

‘I know.’ He was crestfallen. ‘I am so bloody sorry. I’m working for an absolute bastard.’ The smile reasserted itself. ‘How about I buy you lunch to make up for it?’

‘Are you going to actually show up?’ Jim sounded serious, but his blue-green eyes were sparkling and Ross momentarily forgot himself as he got lost in them.

‘Yeah.’ He gave Jim a cocky grin. ‘I’ll even come get you, if you want?’

‘How would you know how to find me?’ Jim’s reply had a teasing note to it and Ross inwardly punched the air as he realised he was definitely in there.

‘I’d just ask around for the man with the dimples.’ He gave Jim a playful shove in the arm and Jim laughed.

‘Okay.’ He shrugged. ‘I have lunch at 12:30.’

‘Done.’ Ross looked up and saw the bus. ‘Our ride’s here.’

This morning they shared the back seat and chatted all the way to King’s Cross. Ross showed Jim his playlists full of obscure bands Jim really had never heard of and offered him his headphones to listen to different songs. In return Jim told Ross about the book he was reading and expounded the virtues of Carl Hiaasen.

The trip went far too quickly and they were both laughing when they got off the bus. Ross stood and shifted from one foot to the other.

‘So seriously?’ he asked. ‘How do I find you?’ Jim huffed and held out his hand.

‘Phone.’ he instructed and Ross dug his mobile out and handed it to him. Jim typed in his number and then handed it back. ‘Now you can find me.’

With that he walked off, leaving Ross grinning like an idiot. He watched Jim go down the road and then practically skipped across to the other side.

**********

Lunch time arrived and Jim was feeling nervous. He was sitting at his desk, one knee bouncing as he waited for the text to come through from Ross. Behind him, Tom and Ben were gleefully spectating. Jim was touched with how pleased they were on his behalf that Ross had finally asked him out, and so he didn’t mind the conspiratorial giggling going on.

‘Jim?’ Silver stuck his head around the corner. ‘Has he texted yet?’

Jim threw his two idiot friends a glare and they affected looks of mock innocence.

‘No.’ He couldn’t help sounding a bit grumpy. ‘I’m still waiting. Although I am very interested in how you know I’m waiting for a text.’

‘Nothing is sacred.’ Silver chuckled. ‘Besides, the whole department knows.’

‘Oh, bloody marvellous.’ Jim muttered. ‘So when I get stood up again, everyone can share in my humiliation.’

Of course that was the precise moment his phone decided to buzz. Jim inhaled sharply, the butterflies in his stomach taking flight. He opened the text.

_So I am outside. Where do I go?_

Jim couldn't help the smile that plastered itself all over his face. He tapped out a reply.

_Are you on the forecourt?_

_Yep._

_Stay there. I’ll come down to you._

Jim got up, smiling as he grabbed his bag.

‘So, I’ll put you down for a long lunch then.’ Silver grinned.

‘Good idea.’ Jim replied and then practically cantered out the office.

He got down to the forecourt. The topsy-turvy weather had gifted them with a spring day that was just the right amount of warm and there was even enough sun to warrant digging out his sunglasses. He walked through the usual throngs of lunch time visitors and looked around for Ross. He eventually caught sight of a tall form, dark curls now pulled back into a knot, and headed for it.

Ross was looking expectantly at his phone and didn’t notice Jim until he was alongside him. Then he smiled brightly and held up a couple of plastic bags.

‘So I kind of got a few things.’ He looked a little like he was nervous and that made Jim smile in reply.

‘It’s really crowded here.’ He looked around. ‘Do you mind walking for a bit?’

‘No.’ Ross picked up his bag. ‘Where are we going?’

‘Someplace I know.’ Jim started walking and Ross fell into step with him.

He led him down the road past the library and the building behind until they reached a small park, finding a shady patch under a tree. They got comfortable and Ross dug in the bag and handed Jim a paper wrapped package. Jim gave him a quizzical look as he unwrapped the food, a white BLT roll with extra mayo. That made him raise his eyebrows in surprise.

‘How did you…’ He trailed off and saw that Ross’ smile had a trace of smug delight to it. He reached into his bag and took out a can of Coke Zero and presented it to Jim like he was presenting him with a fine and expensive vintage.

‘I might have charmed your usual order out of Jackie in the sandwich shop.’ He sounded immensely pleased with himself. Jim couldn’t help but laugh at him.

‘That’s very sneaky and extremely effective of you.’ He took the can. ‘You could have just texted me to ask.’

‘Where’s the fun in that?’ Ross took his own drink out of his bag and unwrapped something that looked like it had everything from the shop counter on it. ‘Besides this way I get to make you smile.’ His hazel eyes were dancing when he looked at Jim. ‘I think I might be slightly addicted to your dimples.’

‘So it seems.’ Jim was feeling ridiculously pleased.

They ate their lunch, talking about their respective mornings. Ross was funny, soon having Jim in stitches as he moaned about Warleggan and the mindless tasks he had Ross do throughout the day.

‘God, I fucking hate him.’ He crumpled his sandwich wrapper and looked thoughtfully at the bin not too far from them. ‘Think I can get it in?’

‘Not from here.’ Jim leaned back against the tree behind him and smiled. He was happy, just sitting and having lunch with Ross making him feel like they had known each other for ages. Ross made him feel comfortable, encouraging him to talk about himself and listening with interest. Jim realised that this little lunch meeting was going far better than his last ten dates had.

He spotted something and got up. Ross watched him curiously, but made no move to follow. Jim chuckled to himself and jogged across the park, made his purchase and came back. He handed Ross his Magnum and Ross took it happily.

‘How did you know I like chocolate?’ he asked and Jim huffed a laugh.

‘You telling me you don't?’ He looked at how Ross had ripped off the wrapper and was now crunching through the outer shell. ‘Because I call bullshit on that one.’

‘Lucky guess.’ Ross’ reply was muffled. He chomped his way through the chocolate coating, then started licking the ice cream off the stick, slowly and with far too much care.

Jim’s imagination instantly dived face first into the gutter and refused to come out. He actually had to look away, his face heating up as the possible implications of Ross’ little display played havoc with all his attempts to act cool. What made it worse was that Ross was completely oblivious to the effect he was having.

He looked at his watch, hoping for a diversion, and then was dismayed to realise that he was actually running rapidly out of time.

‘Shit.’ He moved to get up. ‘I have to get back.’

Ross looked at his own watch and then pulled a face.

‘Dammit.’ He sighed and got up as well, brushing grass from his jeans. ‘Me too.’

They walked back and got to the side door into the library. Jim swiped his pass and opened the door and then turned.

‘Thank you.’ He gave Ross a smile. ‘For lunch.’

‘It’s Friday tomorrow.’ Ross had a playful lilt to his voice. ‘Do you think I could persuade you to come have a drink with me after work?’

‘I think I might be able to be convinced.’ Jim smiled. Things were turning out far better than he could have ever hoped.

‘Great.’ Ross caught his lower lip between his teeth, then leaned in quick as a flash and kissed Jim just shy of the corner of his mouth.

Jim was so surprised that he completely forgot to respond and simply stood there with his mouth hanging open. Ross pulled back and his dark eyes were filled with something that just hinted at heat as he smiled. It was having quite a devastating effect on Jim’s entire self. He found himself fascinated by the two front teeth in Ross’ generous mouth, slightly slanted inward and giving him the most endearing look.

‘I’ll see you later then.’ Ross moved away, slinging his bag over his shoulder. ‘Later.’

Jim raised his hand to say goodbye and watched as Ross strode off down the street, his heart doing a happy dance. He went inside, almost skipping as he made his way back up to his office.

Tom and Silver were conferring over a manuscript when he came in and they both looked at him expectantly.

‘So, how was lunch?’ Silver had his bushy eyebrows raised at him in question.

‘Good.’ Jim drifted to his desk and set his bag down. He missed the gleeful look that was exchanged behind his back.

‘So are you seeing him later?’ Tom asked, sounding deliberately casual.

‘He’s asked me to have a drink with him tomorrow.’ Jim kept his back to them, but he could almost feel the grins.

‘Sounds like a good idea, lad.’ Silver offered. ‘It’s been a while since you went out with someone.’

‘And he’s fit.’ Tom was grinning. This time Jim did turn around and gave them both a penetrating look.

‘You were watching me out the window.’ he accused and their guilty faces confirmed his suspicions.

‘Only a bit.’ Tom protested. ‘We just wanted to see what he looked like.’

‘Christ.’ Jim laughed. ‘You’re all idiots.’

*********

The afternoon came and went and Jim was starting to pack up to go home when Silver came back to see him.

‘I need you to go over the project briefing for next week.’ he instructed. ‘Maybe get something typed up.’

‘Okay. I will have a think about it tonight.’ Jim reached for his notebook on the desk where he write down his various ideas and tucked it into his bag. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’

‘Have a nice bus ride home.’ Silver’s remark was accompanied by a waggle of eyebrows that definitely fell into dad territory. Jim huffed at him and headed off.

His phone buzzed as he got to the bus station. Jim took it out his pocket and felt a wash of disappointment when he read the message.

_That bastards done it again. Fucking working late. You still keen for tmoz?_

Jim sighed and typed out a reply.

_Of course. I’m looking forward to it. I’m just sorry I won’t get to see you now._

His phone buzzed a second later.

_We could do lunch again, if you’re up for it?_

That made Jim smile.

_Sounds good._

_Right then. I’ll see you for lunch._

It was sent with a string of smiling emojis.

Jim looked up as the bus approached and shoved his phone back in his pocket. He got on and sat and daydreamed about seeing Ross the next day until he got to his stop. Even then, he floated home on a cloud of happy hormones until he got to his building. He let himself into his flat and decided that he was too lazy to actually cook. A call to the Indian restaurant around the corner sorted that out and half an hour later the doorbell rang.

After dinner, Jim cleaned up and dug out his notebook to start working on the project he was going to be leading. He worked for three hours until ten and then decided that enough was enough. He got up, yawning expansively, and took the book to bed with him for a final read through.

He went to shower and got into bed, putting his head phones in to listen to music while he did his read through. All the while though, Jim could feel himself getting distracted, running over scenarios in his head about what could happen the following evening.

Eventually he gave up, set his notebook aside on his bedside table and opened his drawer. He took out the other notebook and started writing.

This time it was more fully formed in his mind. Spending lunch with Ross meant knowing what his voice sounded like, his laugh. Jim had been able to watch him closely all he wanted and paid attention to his physical mannerisms, the way he smiled.

It was the smile that started it. Jim imagined that smile from a different angle. He would be sitting, maybe on his sofa or sprawled on his bed, but the smile would come from below.

_Ross was kneeling over him. This time he was shirtless, the dark body hair Jim had just glimpsed at the neck of his t-shirt now on display. Jim wanted to run his fingers through it, feel its texture, so he did. He placed both hands flat to Ross’ upper arms, feeling the muscles under his palms flex. Ross inhaled sharply and his eyes were flat with arousal._

_Jim smiled and ran his hands down Ross’ arms and Ross came up to meet him. He lowered just enough to kiss him, tongue flicking against Jim’s in a teasing touch. Jim responded and the kiss went on for a while until he ran both hands down Ross’ chest, toying with hardened nipples and moving lower. Ross moaned into his mouth and then broke away. He flashed Jim a heated look from those beautiful eyes and Jim’s breathing caught as Ross inched down his body, dropping kisses over his chest and stomach until he was level with Jim’s cock._

_Jim moaned, realising just what Ross had in mind and Ross smiled at him. It was full of filthy promises, those wonderfully crooked teeth and the quirk at the corners driving Jim crazy. Ross took hold of him in one hand._

_Then he very deliberately dragged his tongue over the head of Jim’s cock and Jim nearly went through the ceiling._

_Ross didn’t stop there. He licked gently, taking his time to run his tongue around the edge and up the shaft before teasing the slit at the top. Jim reached behind him, grabbing on to whatever was close to hand and tried not to thrust up too hard. He couldn’t quite control himself though, his hips making little involuntary movements, and Ross fixed him with those dark eyes._

_‘Do it.’ His voice was low. ‘Fuck my mouth.’_

_Jim whined, watching as Ross took him in. His head moved down, the wet heat of his mouth so good it knocked everything out of Jim’s mind. Ross ignored the whine, moving his head in a steady rhythm up and down._

_He couldn’t last long, not like this, and reached down with one hand. He tugged on the soft curls, but Ross kept going and the sweet flare of heat in Jim’s chest grew until he was consumed by it. The climax was intense, filling him up even as he came in Ross’ mouth._

_Ross groaned, the sound seeing to come from deep in his chest, and swallowed convulsively around him. Jim shuddered, his body jerking as he rode the waves of aftershocks until he fell back._

_That was when Ross lifted his head and smiled at him again. This time Jim could read the arousal on his face. He reached down once more and Ross licked at his fingers when Jim dragged them over that gorgeous mouth._

_‘Anything.’ he breathed. ‘Just ask me for it.'_

This time there were no niceties. Jim couldn’t wait, dragging his pyjama pants down just far enough to get his hand on himself. He went hard and fast, the resulting orgasm noisy and messy in the extreme as he came all over his own stomach. When he was done, Jim fell back against the pillows just like he had in his fantasy, chest heaving.

It took a few moments for him to recover and then he managed to get off the bed and go to the bathroom. As he stood up, his notebook fell to the floor and Jim huffed as he picked it up with his clean hand and set it on the bedside table.

He washed himself off and went back to bed, his endorphin high wearing off and being replaced by a sudden rush of fatigue. It was barely three minutes after he put the light out, and Jim was drifting off to dream of what was coming the next day.


	5. Day Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's finally Friday.

Jim woke up the next morning in a bit of an odd mood, trepidation and anticipation mixing uncomfortably in his stomach. He went to shower and got dressed, agonising over what to wear that would allow him to go from work to drinks with Ross and muttering when he realised he’d done his buttons up incorrectly.

He redid them, catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He normally didn’t do shirts, but this was going to be an actual date and he wanted to look nice. He’d chosen the only one he had that didn’t make him look like an actual librarian and threw the plain navy shirt over a white t-shirt for contrast.

Dressed and ready for work, Jim ate his breakfast and then had a moment’s panic as he contemplated whether they could possibly end up back at his flat. That in turn made him think about the possibility of sex, and while he couldn’t be sure if he was jumping the gun Jim also didn’t want to be caught out if that was on the cards in the near future.

A quick scout in the bathroom revealed that he had no condoms that were actually in date and he huffed in annoyance as he chucked them in the bin and made a mental note to buy new ones. That thought set off the cycle of nerves again and Jim was barely aware of anything but how hard his heart was beating at the thought that he and Ross would actually be going out that evening.

He was already out the door and halfway down the stairs when he remembered the notebook and had to sprint back up to his flat to go and get it. He charged through to his room, grabbed the notebook off the bedside table, and galloped back out again.

The diversion meant Jim almost missed his bus and he ended up having to fling himself bodily through the doors at the last minute, looking around expectantly for Ross. Unfortunately, Ross was nowhere in sight.

Jim frowned as he made his way to the back, falling into an empty seat and dumping his bag on the floor. He took out his phone and sent Ross a text.

_Hey, you up?_

There was no reply and that made Jim feel a flicker of concern in spite of himself. He knew it was crazy, worrying about someone he’d literally only met that week. He heaved a sigh and put his phone back in his pocket, now completely distracted.

*********

Ross woke up with a sense of foreboding. He reached out blindly, scrabbling for his phone. To his horror, he saw that he’d obviously switched off his alarm when he’s last snoozed it and he was now bordering on extremely late.

‘Shit!’ He did a near vertical leap from his bed, then showered and got dressed at a speed that could have probably broken records.

He was still doing up his shirt as he hurtled out his front door and down towards the bus stop, knowing that he had definitely missed Jim by at least an hour. Thankfully that also meant that the bust stop was far less crowded and Ross got on, pressed his pass to the reader and went to sit where he and Jim had been sitting the morning before. As he got comfortable, he stretched his legs out as best he could and then frowned when his foot hit something.

He leaned down and saw that there as a something underneath the seat in front of him. Ross reached down and managed to grab it and then came back up. The object in his hands was a black Moleskine notebook, A4 size. He looked around, but the other commuters were not paying him any mind at all and curiosity eventually overcame common sense and he opened it.

Then promptly slammed it shut.

Then opened it again, his eyes going wide as he read the page of text in front of him.

‘Bloody hell.’ It was murmured and Ross immediately knew he couldn’t hand this in to lost property, not after seeing what the owner had been writing about. It was taking everything he had not to blush profusely at the very graphic descriptions. He did have to admit that whoever had written this, had an enormous talent for making the whole scene come to life and Ross could all too easily picture what was being written about and he was engrossed all the way to King’s Cross until the bus lurched to a stop and he was jolted back to reality.

He closed the notebook and shoved it into his own bag, then got up when he was ready to get off the bus. It was a little difficult. For one thing, he was now nursing a little bit of a hard-on and he had to shift discreetly as he walked down the bus and got off.

Warleggan was waiting for him when he arrived, pale blue eyes blazing as he gave Ross a look that should have made him burst into flames by all rights. Ross sighed and followed him into his office where he was subjected to a twenty minute tirade and given a verbal warning for being late. It took all his will power to not tell Warleggan to shove his job up his arse, but Ross bit his tongue and did as he was told.

When Ross was finally released, he went to his desk and sat down. Then he glimpsed the notebook just sticking out his bag and the smile was back.

**********

Down the road, there were no smiles in evidence.

‘Shit!’ Jim slumped forward, head on his desk. ‘I can’t fucking believe this.’

‘Look, it’s okay.’ Tom was trying to help. ‘You have all the basic stuff online. The book just has the outline notes and shit and it’s not like you can’t whip everything out of your head to be fair.’

‘I know, it’s just a mission.’ Jim huffed and leaned back in his seat.

‘Have you called them?’ Ben asked. ‘Maybe someone’s handed it in.’

‘I have and no they haven’t.’ Jim was annoyed. ‘It’s not like it’s the end of the world, I just hate bloody losing things.’

‘Well, if someone’s picked it up they’re going to be bored to death.’ Tom laughed. ‘All your notes of restoration and displays.’

‘They’ll probably just chuck it in the bin.’ Jim muttered, now grumpy beyond words.

***********

‘Seriously?’ Demelza looked over her shoulder. ‘Porn?’

‘The best fucking porn I’ve ever read.’ Ross was trying to keep his voice down but it was very difficult to keep a lid on his excitement. He’d flown through his morning’s work so he could devote a bit of time to perusing the notebook. He’d gone back to the beginning and he was pretty much blown away by how inventive the writer was, and also the level of kink he’d been presented with. The stuff he’d read so far ranged from pretty standard to off the wall and Ross was utterly fascinated. Unfortunately Demelza had caught him at it which was now why they were in the kitchenette whispering about what was in the notebook.

‘You have to let me read it.’ Her blue eyes were sparkling with mirth.

‘Absolutely not!’ Ross hissed back. ‘Finders keepers.’

‘I wonder who it belongs to?’ Demelza mused.

‘Well, I’m not giving it to lost property, that’s for sure.’ Ross grinned. ‘It’s coming home with me.’

‘Maybe Jim wrote it.’ Demelza chuckled. ‘Wouldn’t that be something?’

‘No.’ Ross shook his head. ‘He’s far too…studious.’

‘Is that a bad thing?’ Demelza asked, putting sugar in her tea.

‘Not at all.’ Ross replied. ‘Jim’s a real person.’ He shrugged. ‘And I really like him.’

‘Yeah, I can see that.’ Demelza smiled as she sipped her tea. ‘He sounds lovely.’

‘I need to call him actually.’ Ross remarked and looked at his watch. ‘We’re supposed to be going out tonight for a drink after work.’

‘Oh really?’ Demelza’s face lit up and Ross narrowed his eyes at her.

‘No.’ he said sternly. ‘You’re not invited.’

‘Oh come on?’ Demelza laughed. ‘We just want to get a look at him.’

‘No.’ Ross moved past her, also grinning. ‘Maybe later, but tonight he’s all mine.’

**********

Jim finally got the report typed up and was fairly happy with what he’d produced, in spite of the fact that his notes were probably now doing the rounds of the Greater London bus circuit.

His phone buzzed and Jim smiled when he saw the name of the person messaging him. He opened the text and felt a little flutter in his chest.

_So I did promise you lunch._

_You did._

He grinned at his own cheek and waited for a reply.

_So what do you want?_

That sounded awfully open-ended and Jim bit his lip.

_Oh Ross. If you only knew._

Sadly he wasn’t brave enough to send that particular message so he deleted it and tried again.

_There’s a really nice Indian place around the corner from here. They do a lunch time thing for ten quid._

_Sold. I’ll see you in half an hour?_

_Sounds good._

Jim sighed happily, letting his earlier irritation at having lost his notebook fading away in the face of seeing Ross.

When lunch time came, he shouldered his bag and went down to the forecourt. Ross was waiting for him and Jim grinned when he noticed that he looked a bit of a mess.

‘What happened to you this morning?’ he asked. Ross laughed.

‘I switched off my alarm when I should have snoozed it.’ he explained. ‘I was fucking late.’

‘Shit.’ Jim fell into step with him and they started walking down the road. ‘Were you in trouble?’

‘Yeah.’ Ross sighed. ‘I got royally bollocked when I got in.’

‘Well, I hope he doesn’t make you work late.’ Jim could already feel a twinge of disappointment at the thought of calling off their planned drinks.

Ross seemed to read his mind and gave him a gentle shoulder bump.

‘We’re still going out tonight.’ He smiled. ‘I don’t care what that twat says.’

‘Good.’ Jim ducked his head, lost in the face of the brilliant smile.

They got to the restaurant and had lunch, chatting about various things as they ate.

‘So how was your morning?’ Ross asked as he ripped his naan bread into pieces. ‘Better than mine, I hope.’

‘No, not really.’ Jim sighed. ‘I was in a bit of a state this morning myself. I lost my notebook on the bus and it has all my project notes in it for this thing we’re doing on medieval manuscripts so I had to pretty much start from scratch again for the project report I’m writing. There’s probably no way anyone’s going to turn it in.’

He looked up and saw Ross looking at him with a startled expression.

‘You lost a notebook?’ he asked. ‘What did it look like?’

‘Black A4 Moleskine.’ Jim explained. ‘Why?’

‘Well, you never know.’ Ross reached for his beer, still looking a bit off. ‘It might turn up.’ He put his beer down. ‘I’ll be back in a sec.’ He got up and Jim watched him walk in the direction of the men’s room. He was feeling a bit confused by what had just happened, but then shrugged it off and carried on eating.

**********

In the bathroom, Ross doused his face in cold water and then looked at himself in the mirror.

‘It’s just a co-incidence.’ he said to his reflection. ‘It’s not his.’

Still the little voice in the back of his head suggested that it could be. After all Jim’s livelihood was books. He was certainly articulate enough to have written it. It was the content that Ross was being knocked sideways by. It was very hard to reconcile the sweet, cardigan-wearing librarian he was currently having lunch with with the screaming nympho from page eight who was very explicitly demanding that his partner fuck him on the kitchen sink.

He washed his hands and made his way back. Jim looked up and gave him that shy dimpled smile of his and Ross returned it and sat back down.

He gave Jim a surreptitious look. There was definitely no way the writer of the notebook and his lunch date were the same person, although Ross had to admit that a tiny bit of him wished they were.

When they were done, Ross paid and they started walking back. He did take a tiny risk and moved in a bit closer, his hand brushing Jim’s. Jim moved to meet him and their fingers linked. Ross looked down at their hands and then at Jim and got a sideways smile that made his stomach lurch very pleasantly.

They got back to the library and Ross walked Jim right up to the staff entrance on the opposite side from the one he’d left him at the day before. The good thing about this he noted, was that it was out of view of the forecourt and quite secluded.

‘So what time do you finish?’ he asked Jim as he took his security pass out.

‘Five.’ He gave Ross a half shrug. ‘More or less. I can text you when I’m done?’

‘That sounds perfect.’ Ross was looking at him, getting drawn in by those sea-coloured eyes. Jim had his back to the door now, and his lips parted ever so slightly.

‘I guess I’ll see you then.’ He seemed to be waiting and Ross was never one to turn down an invitation.

He stepped in so they were toe to toe and bent down the few inches needed. Jim inhaled sharply just before he kissed him and Ross felt heat flash through his chest. It wasn’t the most profound of first kisses, barely a brush of lips, but it went right through him and he was a little breathless when they parted. Jim was too, his cheeks beautifully flushed and his glasses a little crooked.

‘Wow.’ he breathed.

‘I agree.’ Ross smiled. He was about to lean in again when his phone buzzed.

‘Saved by the bell.’ Jim’s dimples were out.

‘Bloody work.’ Ross muttered checking the text. It was from Demelza, telling him that Warleggan was on the warpath and that he need to get his backside back as soon as possible. ‘I’ll call you later, yeah?’

‘Sure.’ Jim opened the door and smiled at him. ‘Later.’ He went inside and Ross waited until he could see Jim going up the stairs and then took off for the publishing house.

He got back to the office and found himself being eyeballed once again. This time the lecture came with orders to work his lost time in after hours and a demand that he stay until at least eight to help Warleggan with a book layout. His protestations were dismissed by a threat to terminate his internship and Ross gritted his teeth and towed the line, his shoulders slumped as he left the office and went to make the inevitable text.

_That must be something of a record._

He could almost hear Jim’s sarcasm through the words.

_He’s such an utter bastard._

_Yeah, but it’s not worth losing your internship over, Ross. There will be other nights._

_Will there? Are you sure you want to keep getting let down by me?_

Ross chewed on his lip before sending the message. He felt terrible and he was sure that Jim probably hated him.

_Don’t be an arse. I happen to enjoy your company._

That made him perk up no end but the next words made him want to jump up and down.

_If you wanted, you could come round to mine tomorrow._

_Yes please. I can bring something over?_

_All right. You bring the food and I’ll force feed you my terrible wine selections._

_Deal._

Ross read the next text that came through with Jim’s address. Then he heard Warleggan bellowing for him and went back to work.

*********

Jim got to the end of the day feeling glum. Not seeing Ross had made him despondent and he decided that he really needed to be done with the day.

‘You coming for a quick one seeing as Ross is working?’ Tom asked and Jim shook his head, shutting down his computer.

‘No.’ He sighed. ‘I am going home, I’m opening a bottle of Malbec and I’m drinking until this day goes away.’

He left the office and caught the bus home, stopping at the shop to pick up dinner and wine. The cashier gave him a look as she scanned his obvious meal for one and a whole bottle of wine, but Jim was in no mood and he met her look evenly.

He left the shop and stomped home, noticing that the clouds were coming in again. It started raining as he got to the front step and that just put the finishing touch on the day.

Jim huffed at the sky and went in, stropping up the stairs until he got to his front door and let himself in. He went to the kitchen first and put everything down, then took his things through to the bedroom. He kicked off his trainers and noticed that his other notebook was still on the bedside table.

Jim snorted, feeling annoyed again at having lost his other one. He walked over and picked it up to put it away.

Then he noticed that it had a little dent at the bottom and his blood ran cold. He opened it and his notes from the manuscript report jumped out at him.

‘Oh no.’ Jim breathed, now realising just what he’d lost. ‘Oh fucking hell…’

He dropped the notebook back on the bed and sat down, feeling like everything was falling through the bottom.

This day really couldn’t get any worse.

*********

Ross ran the contract he’d just spent an hour typing up through the copier and looked at his watch. He had ten more minutes to go and then he could finally escape. Warleggan had fucked off an hour before, but he’d left one of his watchdog assistants behind to make sure Ross didn’t scarper off.

She finally came through and instructed him that he could go home and Ross put his jacket on and took his bag out from under his chair, making sure the notebook was securely stowed away. His bus ride home was filled with a bunch of already pissed students. Ross huffed and stuck his earphones on and soon he was back in his happy place.

He didn’t waste time getting home, and when he came in he found Francis and Elizabeth curled up together on the sofa.

‘There’s a steak pie in the oven for you.’ Francis said. ‘And some veggies on the stove.’

‘Thanks, but I’m not really hungry.’ Ross came to stand behind the sofa. ‘I take it Liz filled you in.’

‘He’s such a cock.’ Elizabeth snorted. ‘And he’s got it in for you unfortunately.’

‘Well, he can try and get rid of me.’ Ross muttered. He went to his room, shutting the door and very keen on finding out what else was in the notebook and whether it actually contained any evidence that it belonged to Jim.

He got rid of his boots and switched on the TV on his chest of drawers, turning the volume up loud enough to hide any sounds that might emanate. He checked the door was locked and then made himself comfortable on the bed.

Ross set the book on his lap and then turned to the last page. What he read made him gasp out loud.

Even if he hadn’t had a clue that the book might belong to Jim, the description of himself in the scene Jim had written would have been a dead giveaway. What was really amazing, the fact that Jim had written pages and pages about them having what certainly sounded like scorching hot sex aside, was the affection that came through when Ross read the words. Jim just didn’t fancy him, he clearly liked him as well. That made up for his completely shitty day and Ross grinned like an idiot and got stuck in.

An hour and two orgasms later, he had also started to appreciate that Jim had a superlative imagination and many excellent kinks. Ross lay back on the bed, laughing as he cleaned cum off his hand. His mind was already working overtime to set up a surprise the next evening that Jim was not going to forget in a hurry.

A knock at the door shook him out of his reverie.

‘Are you okay, Ross?’ It was Francis. ‘We thought we heard something that sounded like you’d hurt yourself.’

Ross stifled his laughter, his whole body shaking.

‘No.’ he managed to reply. ‘Everything’s brilliant, mate.’


	6. Day Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Saturday night has arrived.

Ross woke up the next morning with a sticky patch underneath him on the mattress and a lingering dream in which he was doing all the x-rated things in Jim’s notebook to him and they were both having a very good time while doing it. He knew he would have to play it cool though, but he was also completely hyped up over what he had planned.

Francis was up when he stumbled through to the kitchen. He was making breakfast and grinned when he saw Ross.

‘So we’re all going out tonight.’ he said. ‘You coming? You can invite Jim if you want.’

‘I actually have plans.’ Ross grinned. ‘And if I’m lucky, I will not be coming home tonight.’

‘Nice.’ Francis poured out a mug of coffee and handed it to him. ‘Actually this has been kind of a slow burn for you.’

‘He’s worth it.’ Ross smiled into his mug. ‘I like this one.’

After breakfast he thought about what to wear and what to get for dinner as he sat on his bed, laptop open while he browsed for ideas. He wanted to kind of blow Jim away, but his cooking skills left much to be desired. He contemplated take out, but that wasn’t nearly as upscale as he wanted.

‘Francis?’ he yelled from his room. A few moments later his cousin stuck his head around the door.

‘What?’ he asked.

‘I need to take something tonight that is super easy to make and incredibly impressive.’ Ross looked up at him. ‘Suggestions?’

‘How impressive?’ Francis quirked an eyebrow at him. ‘Second date impressive or get into his knickers impressive?’

‘Both.’ Ross leaned back against his pillows and huffed. ‘Come on Gordon Ramsey, you must have something even I can’t fuck up.’

‘Well. There is something.’ Francis said. ‘I assume he has an oven.’

‘I reckon?’ Ross shrugged. ‘Actually I have no idea.’

‘Well, ask him.’ Francis rolled his eyes at him.

‘Okay.’ Ross reached for his phone and texted Jim.

_This is an odd question, but do you have an oven?_

His phone buzzed a second later.

_Yeah? Why?_

_I might need to use it._

_Now I am intrigued. Just what are you doing?_

_Never you mind. Just answer the question._

_Yes, I have an oven Mr Mysterioso._

Ross chuckled and nodded to Francis.

‘The oven has been confirmed.’ He grinned at his cousin and Francis looked thoughtful.

‘All right. Get your arse up, we’re going shopping.’ He turned and walked down the corridor and Ross got up. He had a quick shower and got dressed, then went to find Francis waiting in the living room with no sign of Elizabeth, who liked to lie in bed for most of the day on the weekend.

They headed out and walked to the shops a few roads away. Fortunately there was Marks and Spencers and Francis headed straight for it, dragging Ross behind him.

‘So what we need is minimum effort but maximum effect.’ He perused the shelves, and then turned to Ross. ‘Does he have allergies?’

‘I have absolutely no idea.’ Ross frowned. ‘I know he likes bacon. That’s about it.’

‘Brilliant.’ Francis snorted with laughter. ‘So that’s no bloody help. Okay we’ll go with something simple that you can just reheat.’ They went through the shop and ended up with the ingredients for coq au vin, one of Francis’s best efforts, a baguette and a salted caramel and honeycomb cheesecake which made Ross very happy.

After Marks, there was a brief stop at Boots for condoms and lube. Ross paid while Francis snickered behind him. Then they walked home and spent the rest of the afternoon making the dish and leaving it to cook.

Around two, Jim sent him a text.

_So I’m thinking around six?_

Ross smiled and sent one back.

_Can’t I come round now?_

He got back a row of smiling emojis.

_You’re very keen._

_Yes. I am._

_I wish you could. But I’m kind of busy right now._

_Okay. Six is perfect._

_I’ll see you then._

_Yes, you will._

Ross’ laugh was bordering on gleeful as he stuck his phone back in his pocket and then looked up to see Francis watching him from across the living room.

‘Wanker.’ He shook his head and went back to his newspaper. Ross snickered and threw a cushion at him.

**********

Jim laid his phone down on the bedside table and carried on making his bed. He knew that he was being extremely presumptuous, but he wanted to be ready for any and every eventuality, especially if that meant Ross not going home.

Once he’d finished the bed, he went and cleaned the bathroom from top to bottom and laid out an extra towel. He was quite sweaty by this stage and went to the kitchen for something to drink. There was a shopping bag on the table with three bottles of wine and a pack of condoms, a bottle of lube and a couple of different types of chocolate in it. He’d gone for Green and Black, choosing several different varieties to make sure he’d bought something that Ross liked.

Jim drank a half bottle of water from the fridge, then stuck in the bottle of white he’d bought, and grabbed the bag before taking it into the bedroom. He emptied the bag’s contents into the drawer and closed it, smiling to himself. His checklist complete, he now had the chance to give himself a once over as well.

He was surprising even himself by how enthusiastically he was throwing himself into this evening. The fact that he was preparing himself to pretty much seduce Ross into sleeping with him was not something he normally did, but Jim was not even the slightest bit hesitant. The second he’d sent the text asking Ross to come around for dinner, he’d known that he wanted it to happen.

The realisation that he’d lost his notebook had only compounded things. Jim had had a long hard think about how he’d spent the whole week writing things in that book and its loss stung but now he was taking it as a sign that maybe he needed to stop living through his words and do something for real. The last person he’d slept with had left him stung and it had taken something out of Jim, but Ross was making him feel things that he hadn’t felt in a very long time and he wanted to explore them.

*********

Ross came out his room at five-thirty exactly. He was showered, dressed to kill and desperately hoping that the evening would go well.

He’d gone with a tried and tested look – black skinny jeans and a black shirt, sleeves rolled up and unbuttoned dangerously low. He sat to pull on his workboots, and Francis laughed at how he was seemingly enveloped in a cloud of aftershave in spite of the fact that he was artfully stubbled, dark curls loose and wild around his face.

‘Jesus.’ His blue eyes were sparkling merrily. ‘You’re pulling out all the stops tonight then?’

‘Fuck yeah.’ Ross was dead serious. ‘I meant it when I said I wanted to get into his knickers.’ He stood up and did a twirl. ‘And?’

‘Mate, I’d fucking shag you.’ Francis laughed. ‘You look great.’

‘Thanks.’ Ross grinned. He picked up his bag, a change of underwear and a spare t-shirt stashed inside just in case. ‘In that case, I’ll see you tomorrow with any luck.’

‘Food’s all done.’ Francis nodded in the direction of the kitchen. ‘Just shove it in the oven to warm through for about twenty minutes and you’ll be good to go.’

‘I owe you one.’ Ross said as he walked past the sofa, high fiving the hand held up as he passed. In the kitchen he pulled on his leather jacket and picked up the sealed container of coq au vin, the baguette and the cheesecake and loaded it into a Bag for Life. He had a taxi coming to pick him up and left the flat and started down the stairs to wait.

The taxi arrived not five minutes later and took him the few roads across and down. Ross memorised the route, smiling at the fact that he now realised that Jim’s place was actually really not that far from him. It pulled up outside a period block and Ross got out after paying and stared up at the building. He jogged over to the front door, heart picking up speed as his butterflies kicked off.

There were no names, just numbered buttons on the brass plate next to the front doors and Ross pressed the one for Jim’s flat. He was buzzed in almost immediately and went inside. The lobby was very nice, a polished marble floor and imposing wooden staircase climbing up to the floors above.

Ross walked up to the third floor and went down the corridor until he got to the one that had 3C in brass letters on the door. He took a deep breath to calm himself and then knocked. He heard the sound of movement inside and then it opened and he blinked at the sight of Jim standing there barefoot and dressed in perfectly fitting jeans and black t-shirt with a design on the front that looked vaguely familiar to him and which was stretched tight across his chest. It was the first time Ross had seen him without his trademark cardigan and he had to bite his lip a little as he saw just how broad Jim’s shoulders actually were, the sleeves tight around well-defined biceps. His glasses were down his nose again and Jim pushed them up, making Ross’ mouth go dry.

‘Hi.’ His smile was crooked and all Ross' blood decided that his brain didn’t really need that much to function and started heading south.

‘Hi.’ He held up the bag in a desperate attempt to retain some semblance of self-control. ‘So I hope you like chicken?’

The smile blazed into life, the dimples coming out to play.

‘I do.’ Jim replied, standing aside. ‘Come in.’

Ross walked past him, then turned as Jim closed the door. He followed him into a tiny kitchen and Jim gestured to the oven.

‘As requested.’ he said, laughter colouring his voice.

‘Thanks.’ Ross handed him the bag. ‘Although I have a confession to make.’

‘Yeah?’ Jim put the bag on the counter. ‘And what might that be?’

‘I had help.’ Ross watched him take the container out. ‘And by help, my cousin might have done all the cooking.’

‘That’s okay.’ Jim smiled at him. ‘Thankfully, I didn’t ask you over for your cooking.’ There was something in the way he said it that caught Ross’ attention and he gave him a searching look.

‘Then why did you?’ he asked and Jim’s dimples flickered.

‘I’ll tell you later.’ He moved to a cupboard and took out a cast iron out. He emptied the container into it, and Ross watched as he put the oven on and stuck the pot inside. ‘That should be good in about twenty minutes. You want something to drink?’

‘Sure.’ Ross was now completely intrigued. ‘What have you got?’

‘What do you want?’ Jim turned back and now his blue-green eyes were sparkling.

‘Wine is good.’ Ross ventured.

‘Red or white?’ Jim moved past him to get glasses and Ross got a blast of that lovely salty oceanic scent that Jim habitually wore.

‘Red.’ He inhaled discreetly and there was a distinct lurch in his stomach.

Jim took a bottle from the rack built into the counter and started opening it. His movements were brisk and practiced and Ross watched, entranced, as Jim poured the wine and handed him his glass. He smiled at him over the brim and Jim smiled back then turned to pick up his own glass.

‘You want to go sit?’ he asked and Ross nodded.

They went through into a neat living room with a small table and two chairs at one side that was set for dinner. The other side had a sofa against the wall and a large screen TV on the opposite wall. Below it was a bookshelf crammed with books and DVDs and Ross went over to have a look. Jim’s tastes were eclectic but he noticed an abundance of horror films and that made him very happy, being of an identical persuasion.

Jim stood behind him and watched as Ross perused the selection.

‘We can watch something after dinner, if you like.’ he offered.

‘Yeah.’ Ross looked back up at him. ‘What do you recommend?’

‘You’re the guest.’ Jim countered. ‘What are you into?’

‘Classic eighties horror.’ Ross got up.

‘Excellent.’ Jim’s face had lit up. ‘Are you a monster flick kind of guy?’

‘Of course.’ Ross looked back at Jim’s collection. ‘And you’re got almost all the bases covered here.’

‘What’s your favourite?’ Jim moved in to stand next to him and Ross’ pulse did a happy little skip.

‘Vampires.’ He didn’t even have to think about it.

‘How about this then.’ Jim shifted his glass to his other hand and leaned in and took a DVD from the shelf then handed it to Ross.

‘Fright Night?’ Ross was delighted. ‘I love it.’

‘Good, because I have both.’ Jim put the DVD on the coffee table and moved to sit down. Ross followed and he took the opposite end of the sofa.

They chatted about work and Ross found that they had fallen into an easy pattern of back and forth, the conversation never becoming stilted or awkward. Jim listened to him bitch about working late and laughed as Ross regaled him with stories about his colleagues. In return he told Ross about how Tom, Ben and pretty much the whole office had been watching over their interactions all week and Ross felt pleased at how he seemed to have made quite an impression.

The oven buzzer went off and Jim got up to go sort out dinner and Ross followed to help him. Fifteen minutes later and they were sitting down, the wine and conversation continuing to flow as they ate. Jim started telling Ross about the project he was doing and Ross found it fascinating, although a tiny part of him (okay a big part if he was being honest) was doing in internal squeal of anticipation because of the surprise he had in his bag.

‘So.’ He made himself deliberately casual. ‘Did you find your notebook? Or did it turn up?’

‘No.’ Jim’s gold brows drew down for just a moment and Ross wanted to cackle gleefully. ‘Nobody turned it in. I have to face the fact that it’s gone for good.’

‘Didn’t that fuck you up though?’ Ross took the last piece of baguette and offered Jim half. Jim shook his head in reply and Ross consumed it.

‘It wasn’t as bad as I thought.’ Jim shrugged. ‘Turns out it wasn’t my work notebook after all. I have a few that look the same and I’d mixed a couple of them up.’

‘Oh?’ Ross affected an air of interested innocence. ‘What was the one you lost then?’ He supressed a smile at the momentary look of embarrassment on Jim’s face, gone as quick as it had been there.

‘Nothing important.’ He ducked his head, and Ross could see that there was a little bit of colour stealing into his cheeks. ‘Just lists and shit like that.’

‘Oh.’ Ross knew he was being evasive and that made it even better, especially seeing as he knew exactly what the book contained. ‘No harm no foul then.’

‘Something like that.’ Jim agreed. ‘That was good by the way. Francis is quite the chef.’

‘He is.’ Ross said. ‘He does all the cooking. Maybe next week you could come round to mine sometime.’

‘I’d like that.’ Jim’s happy demeanour was back. He pushed back from the table and got up. Ross did as well, helping him to clear the plates and dishes and carry them through to the kitchen. Together they packed the tiny dishwasher and Jim got the second bottle of wine he’d bought. Ross grinned when he saw it and nodded in agreement.

They retired to the sofa, leaving the cheesecake for later. Jim put the DVD in and they sat down together, this time with rather less space between them than there’d been before. Ross noted how Jim tucked one foot up underneath him and settled into the sofa. He’d dimmed the lights for better contrast and now the only real light was from the TV screen and the fish tank on the other side.

The film started and Ross saw how Jim got lost in it easily, but he couldn’t help but be distracted. He was staring at Jim’s profile, wondering just how he could make a move. He didn’t want to come out and announce what he had or jump on Jim without some sort of opening and it didn’t come until Jerry Dandridge moved in next door.

Jim shifted position and his knee brushed Ross’ thigh. Ross jumped, his whole body almost rigid with expectation. That made Jim’s eyes go wide and he immediately looked apologetic.

‘Sorry.’ He started to move away and Ross decided that could not be allowed to happen.

He moved forward, almost crashing into Jim in his usual clumsy way and the intended kiss ended up going wide of Jim’s mouth. Jim snorted with laughter and now it was Ross’ turn to go red.

‘Shit.’ he muttered, ready to pull away.

‘No.’ It came out a little strident and Ross stopped dead, only to see that Jim was looking at him with an intense look on his face.

‘What…’ he started, but then was silenced as Jim moved into his space and kissed him.

Ross was a little shell-shocked. He’d anticipated being the one to kick things off but the insistent way Jim was kissing him made him realise that maybe he wasn’t the only one keen to move things along. He responded readily and when he felt a soft brush against his mouth, he met it and Jim opened his mouth to him. He reached up with one hand going to Ross’ hair, his fingers tangling in it, and Ross had to stop himself from moaning aloud. Heat was flaring inside him and suddenly nothing seemed as important as what he was doing right at that second.

Jim was an excellent kisser and Ross briefly wondered how experienced he actually was before merrily abandoning himself to it. He licked into Jim’s mouth and Jim licked back and it became gloriously messy until Ross couldn’t help himself anymore. He got Jim around the waist and pulled him in close and Jim came easily, almost ending up in Ross’ lap.

It got heated quickly and Ross slid one hand under the loose edge of Jim’s t-shirt. His hand encountered something he hadn’t expected and it threw his pulse into overdrive as he connected with smooth skin laid over rock hard muscle. Jim made a little growling sound and tightened his grip and it made Ross gasp as arousal surged through him, his cock getting in on the action and pressing up insistently against his jeans.

‘Fuck.’ Jim was breathless when they separated. Ross was very gratified to see that he seemed to be every bit as affected as he was, eyes bright and hair mussed with his glasses halfway down his nose. ‘Can you hold that thought?’

‘Absolutely.’ Ross was having trouble breathing himself. He watched Jim get up, not really caring where he was going. Jim left the room and he waited until his footsteps faded and then dove for his bag, which he’d stashed next to the sofa.

The notebook was down the side and he took it out and laid it on the coffee table in front of him. Then it was another dig for the condoms and lube, bringing them to the top and within easy reach. He couldn’t wait to see Jim’s face when he saw what Ross had bought with him.

**********

Jim stared at himself in the mirror of his bathroom, fighting his raging hard-on and trying desperately to get his breathing under control.

‘Jesus.’ he muttered. Staying calm around Ross was proving to be far more difficult than he’d figured it would. He wanted nothing more than to throw himself at him, roll over and open his legs and beg Ross to fuck him until he couldn’t move. He didn’t want to get too overbearing though and that was why he’d taken a little break. The last thing Jim wanted was to come on too strong and scare Ross off.

Jim went back through his bedroom and along the passage to the living room. He took a deep breath as he got to the door, now feeling more in control and ready to go back out and pick things up at a more measured pace. That was until he came through the doorway and saw Ross sprawled rather invitingly on the sofa, a wicked little smile on his face.

Jim frowned and then saw that there was an addition to the coffee table. At first he thought he was seeing things and then something clicked at the back of his head and he stared at the notebook.

‘Ross…’ His voice was low. ‘What is that?’ His stomach lurched as his worst nightmare seemed to be materialising right in front of him.

‘I…’ Ross faltered as he saw how Jim was now clearly unhappy. ‘No, don’t think that.’ He looked appalled at having upset him. ‘It wasn’t meant like that at all. It’s just I found it when I got on the bus and I didn’t know who it belonged to and then I read it and it was bloody incredible and then you said you’d lost a notebook and I put two and two together and please don’t be angry.’ His face was a picture of contrition. ‘I just wanted to give it back.’

‘Shit.’ Jim was now staring at him. ‘You read it.’ He felt like he wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole.

‘I did.’ Ross got up and came towards him and Jim took an automatic step back. ‘Did you miss the bit where I said it was incredible?’

‘Huh?’ Jim wasn’t sure if he was now hallucinating. ‘What?’

‘Your writing.’ Ross looked like he was being pulled in two directions mentally. ‘I couldn’t stop reading it and when I got to the end…’

‘Don’t.’ Jim held up a hand, appalled at what Ross was saying. ‘I am so sorry. You were never ever meant to see that.’

‘Oh for fuck’s sake.’ Ross huffed. Then he completely knocked Jim sideways by charging over, grabbing him by the t-shirt and kissing him hard enough to almost knock his glasses off. They broke apart and Jim was now more confused than ever.

‘Hang on.’ He tried to catch his breath. ‘What exactly are you saying?’

‘I’m bloody saying that I want to do everything in that bloody book.’ Ross replied. ‘Starting with that glasses on thing which has quite frankly been driving me mental since I read it.’

Jim frowned. He was now starting to realise that Ross was actually serious, not taking the piss and not trying to get a rise out of him but maybe actually into all of this. Instinctively his eyes dropped.

Ross’ jeans left very little to the imagination and now Jim could see just how into this he was. He took an involuntary breath at the very impressive outline that he could just make out in the black fabric.

‘So…’ he dragged his eyes back up. ‘You want to…’

‘Fuck your brains out?’ Ross nodded very enthusiastically. ‘God, yes.’ He then looked ever so slightly appalled with himself. ‘That’s only if you want to, of course. If you don’t, I can just go.’ He had blurted out the last bit and something woke up inside Jim.

‘Get on the sofa.’ he ordered and watched as Ross’ eyebrows went up in surprise.

‘What?’ He didn’t seem to believe what he’d just heard.

‘The sofa. ‘Jim pointed past him. ‘If you want to fuck me like in the book we have to be on the sofa.’ He didn’t give himself time to think, time to rationalise himself out of this. He wanted it, wanted it badly enough that he was about to do something he’d never done before and take it.

‘I can do that.’ Ross’ dark eyes were wide and he started walking backwards, his eyes never leaving Jim. Jim followed him, his cock rapidly catching up to where Ross already was so that by the time he managed to place one palm flat to Ross’ chest and shove him backwards onto the sofa, Jim was raring to go.

Ross looked up at him and then lifted his hands, the question on his face. Jim took them and placed them on his hips and then moved to straddle him on the sofa, sinking down until he was comfortable with Ross' hard cock digging into his backside and making him lose all his focus. He swallowed noisily and then put his hands on Ross’ shoulders, bracing himself.

‘You know what comes next?’ He could hardly breathe as the implications of what they were doing hit him full force. He’d never ever contemplated that he’d be in a position to even sleep with Ross, never mind orchestrate one of his fantasies with Ross playing a very willing part.

‘I know.’ Ross’ eyes were now glittering with unconcealed excitement. ‘Just…’ He nodded down at where his bag lay next to the sofa. ‘I have…stuff.’

‘Oh?’ Now Jim smiled as he could see the light flush stealing into Ross’ face. ‘You came prepared?’

‘Shit.’ Ross looked abashed. ‘I…’

Jim didn’t let him finish. Instead he caught him by the shirt and kissed him, being bold in his overtures until they were both lost in it. He felt Ross’ hands slide under his t-shirt and hissed as pure physical need took him. He pulled back before they both took things too far.

‘Hang on.’ He put both hands flat to Ross’ chest. ‘Get it.’

Ross nodded and leaned over as far as he could to snag the strap of his bag and then pulled it up to dig inside for a few seconds and take out a Boots packet. He handed it to Jim, then chucked the bag back on the floor.

Jim took the box of condoms and the pump bottle of lube out, grinning when he saw that he and Ross had actually bought the same thing. He passed the condoms back to Ross while he attacked the bottle with his teeth, ripping the plastic seal and chucking it on the floor. In front of him, Ross was doing the same with the box of condoms. He got one out and then tucked the box down the side of the sofa. Jim grinned and plucked it from Ross’ fingers and balanced it on the back of the sofa.

He looked down at Ross and took a deep breath, steeling himself for the next bit. In the book, it was all down to him and he knew what he had to do. He ran his hands down Ross’ chest and then started working on the buttons, undoing them one by one. Ross’ breathing caught and he watched Jim’s hands until his shirt was undone. He had a black vest on underneath and Jim rucked it up and dragged his fingers through the thick black hair on Ross’ chest.

He was completely enamoured. Under his shirt, Ross was muscled and the dark pelt covered him all the way down until it disappeared under his jeans. Jim took the opportunity presented and stroked over Ross’ pecs, his arousal peaking at the feel of dense fur and hard muscle under his hands. He found the dusky pink nipples just poking out and toyed with them. Ross made a strangled sound and tipped his head back against the sofa.

‘Jesus Christ…’ He started panting and Jim smiled as he circled one nipple with the tip of his finger, delighting in the responsiveness of Ross’ body.

‘You know.’ He could hardly contain himself. ‘I thought of so many things.’ Ross looked back at him, hazel eyes flashing.

‘We can do all of them if you want.’ His voice had dropped a pitch and it made Jim’s hormones do a happy dance. He retaliated with a gentle pinch that made Ross gasp and then growl at him, dragging Jim down and shoving his tongue in his mouth.

Jim let out a small noise of surprise at being so forcefully handled but it sent his blood racing through his veins, lighting him up and making him crazy with the need to get Ross’ clothes off as quickly as possible. He got hold of Ross’ shirt and Ross quickly cottoned on to what he was doing and sat forward to help, both of them still kissing frantically as they managed to get Ross out of his shirt and vest. Jim sent both of the offending articles sailing across the room and shoved Ross against the sofa as he launched a systematic assault on his neck.

‘Holy fuck…’ Ross panted. ‘Christ, you’re fucking insatiable.’ Jim pulled back and smiled at him.

‘Oh Ross.’ He couldn’t stop staring at that luscious mouth. ‘You have no idea just how fucking insatiable I really am.’ He reached back and yanked his own t-shirt over his head. Ross’s eyes went wide as he took him in.

‘Christ.’ He sounded astonished. ‘How is a librarian this fucking ripped?’

‘I play rugby.’ Jim laughed. ‘I’m only a librarian during the week.’

‘Thank you Jesus.’ Ross was running his hands over Jim’s chest. ‘Has anyone told you that you are illegally fit?’

‘No.’ Jim shuffled back a little so he could get to work on Ross’ belt. He noticed Ross staring at his right side and smiled. ‘I take it you didn’t think I’d have one of those either.’

‘No, I didn’t.’ Ross ran his fingers over the tattoo, a beautiful rendering of an owl perched on a pile of books in greyscale. ‘It’s gorgeous.’

‘Have you got any?’ Jim asked and Ross shook his head. He looked up at Jim.

‘You’re full of surprises, Jim.’ His smile was brilliant.

‘I know.’ Jim couldn’t help feeling a little smug. He finally got Ross’ belt undone and popped the button on his jeans. ‘But I think that this is going to need a talent I might not possess.’ He pulled the zip down. ‘How the hell do you get into these things?

’Perseverance.’ Ross laughed. ‘Besides I know how this little scenario is supposed to go and my pants stay on for a while longer I believe.'

‘Fuck.’ Jim stopped what he was doing and looked at Ross, his curiosity piqued. ‘Just how many times did you read it?’

‘Enough to make me come twice.’ Ross replied. ‘Now get over here.’ He caught Jim by the back of the neck and pulled him down into another kiss, this one entirely without any grace or finesse.

Jim rocked down into him, the friction between them building deliciously. Ross clamped both hands to his backside and thrust up in counterpoint. It went on and on, the kissing and the dry humping spurring them both on.

Jim rode the wave of sensation, climbing the peak slowly. He didn’t want to rush things. In fact the whole scenario in his notebook had been about the slow build. He rocked back and forth, the grind of his cock against Ross’ making them both breathless as their kisses got fiery.

Eventually Ross growled at him and Jim found himself being heaved off and dumped on the sofa. He was about to protest when Ross did a surprisingly graceful slide off the sofa to his knees, shuffling between Jim’s legs and reaching for his jeans.

‘Time to get a move on.’ He grinned as he looked up at Jim. ‘And this is fun, but I really want your cock in my mouth.’

‘Oh fuck…’ That knocked Jim sideways and he was helpless as Ross very efficiently undid his jeans and tugged them and his boxers down. He got them all the way off, Jim kicking them to the last bit to help and then he was back, kneeling between Jim’s legs and looking at Jim’s cock like he was having a religious experience.

‘Damn…’ He took hold of it, his grip just the right side of tight. ‘I am definitely going to enjoy this.’ Then he leaned in, lapping at the head and Jim had to shove his knuckles into his mouth to stop from screaming right from the get go.

Ross was good, taking his time and lavishing attention on the sensitive spots underneath the head and around the edge. He was watching Jim carefully, his dark eyes intense. Jim could only stare back, getting lost in what they were doing. Ross’ eyes crinkled at the corners and he slid his mouth over the head, sucking gently and completely taking Jim’s breath away.

It was every bit as perfect as he’d imagined it would be, and Jim gripped the sofa behind him and watched that lush mouth take him ever deeper, until Ross’ nose brushed his belly. It felt so good, Ross’ mouth warm and wet and the way he used his tongue all making Jim quickly lose control of himself.

Ross pulled off slowly, his smile now wicked.

‘Give me the lube.’ he instructed and Jim leaned over to get it, his arousal spiking as he knew what was coming.

Ross pumped it a few times to get it going and then applied it to his fingers and the gleam of the lubricant set Jim off. He found himself moaning quite a lot louder than he’d intended when Ross’ fingers drifted over his skin.

‘Yes.’ Ross smiled. ‘That’s what I want to hear.’ He pressed in, barely there touches as he traced around in slow circles. ‘I had a feeling you’d be loud as fuck.’

Jim laughed, shifting down the sofa and hitching his legs over Ross’ shoulders.

‘You really shouldn’t encourage me.’ he warned. ‘I’m liable to scream the whole bloody building down.’ He smiled. ‘That is, if you can keep up.’

‘I like a challenge.’ Ross smirked. Then he punctuated his words by easing in one finger to the hilt and Jim let himself be as loud as he wanted, moaning and grabbing at the sofa again.

Ross worked his finger in and out so slowly it was excruciating. He lowered his head, licking along Jim’s cock as he worked him loose enough to go in with two. Jim panted hard and closed his eyes, gritting his teeth against his impending orgasm. It was threatening to be strong enough to blow the top of his head off and he whined as Ross twisted his fingers and rubbed against his prostate, lifting everything to another level completely.

Ross took him in his mouth again, matching the pace of his movements so that his fingers drove in with each bob of his head. He was picking up speed and Jim couldn’t stop himself, his whole body jerking as he got too close to the edge and slipped, bowing back as he came in Ross’ mouth, his shout loud enough to drown out the screams on the TV in the background. It was almost violent in its intensity and Ross grabbed him and held on until he finally stopped shaking.

Ross eventually came up, wiping his mouth and looking extremely pleased with himself.

‘So was it as good as you imagined?’ he asked and Jim laughed.

‘You deviated from the script.’ he admonished. ‘But, yeah it was. In fact, it was better.’

‘Good.’ Ross scrambled up off the floor and wriggled out of his jeans. Jim was very impressed to note that he was able to divest himself of them in under a minute and then stared unashamedly at the magnificent cock that was revealed to him.

‘Whoa.’ He couldn’t tear his eyes away. ‘I think I may have underestimated your talents.’

Ross laughed and flopped onto the sofa. He grabbed the condom off the back and ripped it open, rolling it onto his cock and then digging out the lube.

‘You good to keep going?’ he asked, slicking himself up, and Jim snorted.

‘Try and fucking stop me.’ He moved to get back into the position he’d occupied earlier, raching between them. He took hold of Ross’ cock and held him steady as he lowered. It felt stupidly good, and Jim eased himself down, letting the head of Ross’ cock slide over him in a tantalising tease before he pushed a little harder and Ross started to penetrate him, his body opening up and accommodating his not inconsiderable girth.

It stretched him deliciously, and Jim luxuriated in the way Ross filled him up. He lowered until he was completely filled, the junction of their bodies slippery with lube. He waited until he was fully adjusted and then did an experimental shift.

‘Fuck.’ Ross’ voice was flat with arousal. ‘You feel so fucking good.’ He had his hands up where Jim had before, gripping onto the back of the sofa.

Jim leaned forward to slide his fingers through Ross’ linking them together and then pinning Ross’ hands to the sofa.

‘You ready?’ He smiled and saw that Ross’ eyes were now wary.

‘Why?’ He was so beautiful, flushed and breathing hard, and Jim leaned forward to lick over that generous mouth. One thing that had always surprised his partners was his enthusiasm for rough sex. He had not really expressed it in the description in his notebook, but now he was in a position to let loose and he fully intended to take advantage of it.

He braced himself on his hands and knees and then started to move.

The first few slides were slow and measured until he could find his balance and then on the next pull up, Jim leaned in and breathed in Ross’ ear.

‘You better hold on.’ he murmured. ‘Because I like it hard and fast and I’m going to fuck you until you scream.’

‘Wha…’ Ross couldn’t even finish the word because Jim dropped all the way down, their bodies impacting hard. Ross yelled and grabbed Jim by the hips and Jim was away. He used his leverage to get Ross as deep as he could before coming back up and slamming down. He found his rhythm, bouncing on Ross’ cock and tightening his grip on his hands. Ross was making a lot of noise, shouting on every drive in and out and Jim matched him for every one.

‘Fuck me harder.’ He hissed through gritted teeth. ‘I thought you could keep up?’

‘Fucking hell…’ Ross looked delirious, his hazel eyes completely glazed over. ‘You didn’t tell me you were like this.’

‘Like what?’ Jim bounced harder, grinding down and rocking his hips so Ross’ cock rubbed up against his prostate. He threw his head back. ‘Fuck… come on.’

Ross growled and then grabbed him by the hips, planted his feet into the floor and started to drive up to meet him. It went right through Jim like an electric shock and he shouted in return as his cock filled out and he could feel himself starting to fly again. The whole sofa was smacking into the wall, the force of their movements shaking the entire thing.

‘Jesus fuck!’ Ross had his head back. ‘You’re fucking unreal.’

‘If you’re going to talk, tell me what I want to hear.’ Jim snapped at him and Ross’ eyes focused just long enough to make him look slightly dangerous. He reached up with one hand and grabbed Jim by the hair and Jim knew that whatever else might come of this night, right now it was about as perfect as it could be.

‘Like what?’ Ross looked up at him and now the glint in his eye intensified. ‘You want me to tell you what a whore you are, taking my cock like it’s nothing?’

‘Oh God.’ It was out before Jim could stop himself. He had such a weak spot for dirty talk but he never wrote it down because it always sounded silly when he did.

‘You like that?’ He gripped harder and Jim knew he would be sporting bruises later.

‘Yes.’ he panted. ‘Please…’

‘Fuck.’ Ross hissed at him. ‘Writing that stuff about me, hoping I’d come and fuck your slutty arse.’

Jim moaned shamelessly and went as hard as he could.

‘Yes!’ he panted, letting it all out. ‘Make me take it.’

‘I will.’ Ross had him by the back of the neck. ‘I’m going to fuck you insensible, just keep going and going until I fill you up until my cum just runs out of you. Then I’ll make you get on your knees and come all over the pretty face of yours and mess up your glasses.’

Jim laughed, every bit of him screaming for release. He could feel it now, coming back up again and he leaned back a little.

‘That’s it.’ Ross was still watching him. ‘Come on my cock.’ He drove up hard and it was all it took. Jim grabbed his own cock, stroking a few times and then bowing back as he came all across Ross’ chest and stomach. It was earth-shattering, his whole body shuddering as he kept bouncing until Ross yelled and grabbed him and held him still as he followed.

When it finally stopped, Jim opened his eyes and looked down at Ross. He was a wreck, curls all over the place and his chest heaving, Jim’s semen matted white in the dark hair. Jim knew he wasn’t much better. He could feel his hair was mussed, his glasses smeared and halfway down his nose. Every inch of him was sweaty and filthy and he only wanted it to get worse. His head filled with images of him lying on the sofa, legs spread and in the air, his body and face covered in Ross’ cum and begging for more.

‘Seriously?’ Ross laughed, running one hand through his damp curls. ‘Let me get my breath back at least.’

‘Bloody hell.’ Jim realised he’d obviously expressed that particular thought aloud. ‘Sorry. My imagination has a tendency to run away with me.’

‘No shit.’ Ross laughed and pulled him in for a kiss.


	7. Day Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Saturday...and Ross didn't go home XD

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts for kink bingo - spanking, sex while injured, size kink and deep penetration. Woo hoo!

Ross woke up with the smell of cheesecake in his nose and no idea where he was for a moment. He blinked his eyes open and the first thing he saw was the empty foil container with two spoons in it sitting on the bedside table next to him.

Ah yes. That bought it all rushing back and he grinned and turned over, expecting to see a mussed blond head next to him. Unfortunately he came up with nothing. Jim’s side of the bed was empty.

Ross frowned and tried to sit up, muscles complaining. He felt sore all over but also quite wonderful at the same time. Jim’s declaration of insatiability had turned out to be very true and they’d only gone to sleep after four in the morning when their bodies finally gave up on them.

‘Jim?’ It came out hoarse, a result of a combination of blowjobs and screaming the ceiling down because yes, Jim certainly did like it hard and fast.

Ross spotted a piece of paper on the opposite bedside table and did a slow motion roll to the other side of Jim’s bed to get it. It was covered in very neat handwriting and he grinned as he read it.

_Gone to practice so make yourself at home when you get up. There’s a towel in the bathroom for you and you can borrow anything that fits. I’ll be back around 11:30 if you have nothing better to do than hang around with me today._

That made Ross smile and he put the paper back, turned over and went back to sleep.

*********

The next time he woke up was to the sound of the shower.

Ross blinked at the ceiling and inhaled deeply. He could smell coconut and something sharper and he stretched, feeling the pull in his arms shoulders and back.

The sounds sharpened as he woke up properly, and Ross decided that a hot shower was probably an excellent idea. He managed to get up to sit on the side of the bed and then fought his way onto his feet, still feeling extremely lethargic. He walked across the room, the wooden floorboards squeaking under his feet, and got to the door of the en-suite bathroom. It was very stark with modern fixtures and white subway tiles and he smiled as he caught sight of the shape behind the frosted glass of the shower door.

‘Morning.’ He watched as the figure turned.

‘Hi.’ Jim sounded far too bright and cheerful for a man who had had his arse repeatedly pounded the night before. ‘You’re up.’

‘Not yet.’ Ross snickered as he padded to the shower. ‘But I think you’ll be able to help me with that.’ He opened the cubicle door and squeezed in behind Jim. ‘I think I remember something about showers in that book of yours.’

Jim laughed and Ross took a good look at him. He’d been delighted to find that the compact muscled build didn’t just extend to Jim’s chest and shoulders. All of him was perfectly put together. He was smiling up at Ross, blue-green eyes bright and his dimples deep.

‘Did you sleep well?’ It had enough of a tease in it to get Ross’ pulse stuttering.

‘I did.’ He smiled in reply and took Jim by the waist and pulled him in, wet skin sliding against his and waking up other parts of his body as well. ‘How was running around in a muddy field?’

‘Surprisingly exhilarating.’ Jim came to him easily, arms coming up to link around Ross’ neck. ‘Although I got the piss taken out of me for having more sex bruises than I could count.’

‘Good.’ Ross leaned down to nuzzle at his neck. ‘Fuck, you still smell like me.’

‘I think it’s embedded.’ Jim had his head tilted and Ross could hear how his breathing was picking up. ‘I’ve been thinking about you all morning. I kept getting tackled because I was completely distracted.’

‘Even better.’ Ross licked up the side of Jim’s neck, tasting a ghost of sweat. ‘I’d like to actually watch you play. I have a thing for guys in shorts.’

That made Jim laugh and he pulled back enough to kiss him. Ross kissed back, caring little about anything else but the fact that he could now feel Jim’s cock against his thigh. The kiss was lingering and when he pulled back, Ross slid one hand down Jim’s wet body and took his cock in his hand.

‘You know, you’re really cute without your glasses.’ he murmured and Jim laughed and stuck his face in Ross’ neck. He was panting softly already, arching up into Ross’ hand.

‘Behind you.’ It was clearly an instruction and Ross half turned to see the bottle of fractionated coconut oil in the recess behind him. He grabbed it with one hand and snapped the lip open.

‘Turn around.’ he instructed and Jim moved so they were chest to back. Ross applied the oil to Jim’s back and shoulders, watching as it ran down his skin in clear rivulets unaffected by the water. He did the same to his hand and then in a whim doused himself in it as well before putting the bottle back. Then he took Jim around the waist again and now the slide between their skin was slick and easy and hopelessly erotic.

Jim moaned as Ross reached down for him again, the oil on his hand lubricating his skin. He reached back for Ross with one hand, the other going to Ross’ hip. Ross stroked him over and over, never going too fast as he thrust up against that gorgeous backside, his cock sliding over Jim’s skin. He used his other hand to run over Jim’s chest, just like he’d written in the book, until he was thumbing over his nipple.

‘I could do this all day.’ he murmured in Jim’s ear and got a strangled noise of agreement when he used his thumb to tease the head of Jim’s cock.

‘You won’t need to.’ Jim had his head half turned. ‘I’m so fucking close right now, you have no idea.’

‘Oh?’ Ross smiled and kissed his shoulder as he deliberately slowed his hand. ‘How long can I keep you there?’

‘Fuck.’ Jim was shaking under his hands. ‘I can’t…’

‘Yeah, you can.’ Ross bit down at the junction of his neck and shoulder. He traced over the slit and around the glans, using feather light strokes. He could feel how Jim was starting to jerk back against him and tightened his grip and sped up.

‘Ross…’ The way Jim moaned his name kicked off all sorts of interesting feelings and Ross rocked forward into him.

‘Come on.’ He went back to kissing the side of Jim’s neck. ‘Come all over me.’

‘God...’ Jim threw his head back against Ross’ shoulders and Ross felt him go, the warmth on his hand now nothing to do with the water. He held on until Jim stopped moving, his head now bowing forward as he struggled to catch his breath.

They stood there, the water washing Ross hand clean even as he stroked Jim through the last of it. He was about to suggest they get out when Jim wriggled around in his arms and the next thing Ross knew, he was on his knees in front of him.

‘What are you doing down there?’ he laughed and Jim smiled up at him.

‘Shut up, Ross.’ His eyes were dancing as he took hold of Ross’ cock and slid his mouth over the head. That was enough to make Ross do exactly what he’d said, all his ability to make actual words quickly deserting him as he stared down into blue-green eyes that were now sparkling with the wickedest of intent.

Jim held eye contact as he moved his head, not allowing Ross to look away for a second. Ross couldn’t even if he wanted to, lost in those beautiful eyes and the warmth of Jim’s mouth. He couldn’t control himself, barely lasting three minutes until he came hard, filling Jim’s mouth and grabbing at his hair. Jim didn’t stop until he was done, then pulled off and spat the contents of his mouth into the swirl of water.

‘Fuck.’ Ross watched him avidly. ‘You’re nothing like I expected and it’s so bloody hot.’

Jim looked up at him, laughing.

‘Come on.’ He got to his feet. ‘I don’t know about you, but I am absolutely starving.’

‘Yeah.’ Ross was still floating on a cloud of endorphins but he could feel the slight ache in his belly that was a definite indicator of not enough food in his system. 'I think we burnt off the whole cheesecake last night.’

In that case, how about I make you lunch?’ Jim was back in his space, hands on Ross’ hips. ‘Seeing as you fed me last night.’

‘I like the sound of that.’ Ross kissed his nose. ‘I get the feeling you’re very competent in the kitchen.’

‘And you would be right.’ Jim laughed.

After they got out, they dressed. Jim raised a knowing eyebrow at Ross’ change of clothes but said nothing.

They stepped out Jim’s front door into a bright day, the air a little chilly. Ross held out one hand and Jim took it unhesitatingly as they walked down the street to the little stretch of shops. The Sainsburys local yielded a chicken, potatoes and vegetables as well as another cheesecake which prompted much snickering from both of them.

They took a slow walk back to Jim’s flat, each carrying one bag of groceries and with Jim tucked under Ross’ arm. Ross was pleased to note just how perfectly he fit there and took it as another sign from the great beyond that this was all falling into place just as it should.

‘I could get used to this.’ He commented and Jim’s nose wrinkled in amusement. His glasses were sliding down again and he let go of Ross’ waist briefly to push them back up.

‘Is this your way of asking me out again?’ His blue-green eyes were sparkling. ‘Because I would say yes.’

‘Good to know.’ Ross hauled him back in and kissed the top of his head. ‘I think I really fucking like you.’

‘Is that your head or your cock talking?’ Jim laughed.

‘Both.’ Ross confirmed.

They got to the flat and Ross followed Jim up and inside. As they got his front door, a young couple with a toddler balanced in each elbow were coming out of the flat next to his. The mother gave him a filthy look while the father looked like he wanted to be anywhere than where he was.

‘Perverts.’ the woman muttered as they walked past. As quick as a flash, Jim whirled around.

‘Better than being neglectful new age parents who let their fucking kids cry all night while they get drunk on cheap Pinot.’ he snapped back. ‘You do not want me to get started, so fuck off.’

It was enough to make the couple blanch and scuttle down the stairs. Ross started at his feisty companion in open admiration.

‘Curioser and curioser.’ he remarked and Jim smiled, dimples flashing as he unlocked the door.

‘They’re such arseholes. Do you know how much sleep I’ve lost since they started breeding?’ he said by way of explanation. ‘Besides, a little payback is always good when you can get it and I’m not half as nice as I look.’

They got rid of their shoes at the entrance and went into the kitchen to unpack the groceries. Ross went to sit on the counter next to the sink while Jim worked around him, huffing with pleased laughter as he recounted to Ross all the antics from next door. Ross watched him turn the oven on and then hopped down to come and stand next to him, peeling potatoes over the sink and chucking them in a bowl of water that Jim had given him.

‘This is strangely domestic for me.’ He looked over at Jim as he opened the oven and stuck the now stuffed and seasoned chicken inside before kicking the door closed again. He came to inspect the potatoes and smiled.

‘You seem to be doing all right.’ He rested one hand at the small of Ross’ back. ‘Just keep going.’

Ross chuckled and then moved over as Jim brought the vegetables to the sink next to him and started preparing them. He handled the paring knife he held deftly and Ross was curious.

‘Who taught you how to cook?’ he asked.

‘My dad.’ Jim replied. ‘My parents own a pub in Devon. My mother runs the bar and my dad does the kitchen.’ He shrugged. ‘I spent most of my teenage years working in that bloody kitchen. I hated it at the time but it really came in handy when I got to uni.’ He laughed. ‘I was very popular and not just because I knew the library inside out.’

‘I would think you were popular for all sorts of reasons.’ Ross grinned. ‘Sterling blowies notwithstanding.’

‘Keep talking like that and I’ll show what else I was popular for.’ Jim laughed. He bumped Ross’ shoulder with his.

‘Big talk from the small man.’ Ross couldn’t resist, especially when Jim narrowed those beautiful eyes at him.

‘Don’t.’ It had an edge to it that made Ross’ breath catch.

‘Or what?’ He knew he was skating on thin ice but he really didn’t care. He nodded at the knife in Jim’s hand. ‘You’ll julienne me to death?’

‘You’re not so big I can’t take you.’ Jim retorted.

‘Ha.’ Ross snickered. ‘I’d like to see you try.’

‘You’re taking too long with the potatoes.’ Jim’s eyes had a strange gleam in them. ‘Keep going.’ He put the knife in the bottom of the sink.

‘Yes sir.’ Ross laughed as Jim moved away and left the kitchen. ‘Although I am noting your strategic retreat.’ This was yelled over his shoulder before he started snickering to himself again. He was actually having a lot of fun. Jim was very good company and Ross was now damn sure that this attraction was something he definitely wanted to keep going. He heard Jim come back into the kitchen and half turned.

‘Where did you go?’ he asked and Jim chucked something onto the counter next to him. Ross looked at it and then gasped audibly when he realised it was a condom. He dried his hands off on his jeans and turned just in time to see Jim giving him what could only be described as a predatory look as he very deliberately took his glasses off and laid them aside.

It was enough to make all the blood drain away from Ross’ brain and head south as his eyes widened.

‘Now?’ He had to battle to keep it from coming out as a squeak.

‘Now.’ Jim took three steps to pin him against the counter, grabbing Ross by the shirt and hauling him down into a kiss that quickly turned into more biting than kissing.

Ross fought back, the kiss devolving into a complete free for all as he wrestled Jim’s t-shirt over his head. Jim retaliated by grabbing him by grabbing him by the jeans and manhandling Ross around, his hands coming around him as he undid Ross’ belt.

This was a most unexpected and very welcome turn of events. Ross was a very merry vers, and he was delighted to find out that Jim seemed to be very much on his wavelength. He braced himself against the sink with both hands as Jim got his belt undone and then did the same with his jeans. He had to work a bit harder to get them down and cursed their tightness in very colourful language. Ross laughed and tried to help, only to have his hands pushed away.

Eventually Jim’s persistence won out and Ross waited for the next step, only to have his expectations blown out the water again when he found Jim on his knees for the second time that day.

Jim turned out to be every bit as talented at rimming as he was at going down on him. The first touch of his tongue had Ross gasping, and the subsequent follow up had him grabbing at the counter and moaning aloud as Jim got going and proceeded to make him nearly cross-eyed.

Down below, Jim was shaking with happy laughter, but to give him credit he didn’t stop or even slow down and Ross abandoned himself to it all. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been eaten out, let alone by someone who was so enthusiastic about it. Then Jim stuck his tongue inside him and Ross nearly went through the ceiling.

‘Jesus fucking Christ.’ He panted. ‘Are you even fucking real?’

‘Very real, Ross.’ Jim pulled back long enough to sound completely smug. ‘Now will you not interrupt me please? I have very important work to do down here.’ With that he went back to what he was doing his tongue dancing across Ross’ skin and making him grit his teeth to stop from lifting the roof.

He reached back, hand on Jim’s head and got an enquiring hum.

‘Nothing.’ Ross gritted the words out. ‘Just thought you night like to stop before I come all over your kitchen counter.’

‘You’re not that fucking tall.’ Jim snickered, and Ross heard something that sounded suspiciously like a lube cap being flicked open. ‘But you may have a point.’

‘Oh good.’ He fell back against the counter as he felt slick fingers moving to replace Jim’s tongue. ‘Oh God…’ The first one was sliding in and it was beyond good at this point.

‘You’re so fucking noisy.’ There was laughter bubbling up through Jim’s voice. ‘And you are stupidly tight. When’s the last time you bottomed?’

‘Ages ago.’ Ross muttered, spreading his legs as best he could. ‘Okay this is stupid.’ He shoved at Jim enough to get him to rock back on his heels and then kicked off his jeans so he was just standing there in his t-shirt. That was quickly discarded as well and Jim got to his feet and Ross felt a hand at the back of his neck, slamming him down so he had to catch himself.

It was wildly exciting. Jim kept the hand at the back of Ross’ neck and eased two fingers inside him. He pumped his hand steadily, curling his fingers to stroke over Ross’ prostate on each pull out and it didn’t take long for Ross to start howling his head off. The intensity was almost painful, but it also felt so good that he never wanted it to stop. He bore down hard around Jim’s fingers and heard a sharp intake of breath.

‘Fuck.’ Jim sounded broken. He pulled his fingers out and the condom disappeared from the counter. ‘You good?’

‘Very fucking good.’ Ross could barely contain himself, arousal making him snap. ‘Fuck me.’

‘Now who’s being demanding?’ Jim laughed, but Ross could hear him undoing his jeans, ripping the wrapper open and then the sound of the condom going on. He breathed in deeply and then Jim’s cock was sliding over him before pressing in gently.

Ross moaned as it went in the first inch or two, the stretch reminding him just why he enjoyed this as much as he did. Behind him, Jim moved both hands to his shoulders. He held Ross still and eased in the rest of the way, his cock going in slowly and making Ross whine. He wanted more, wanted Jim to break him open.

‘Fuck, yes…’ He blew out a breath. ‘God, that’s fucking amazing. Your cock feels fucking huge.’

‘Yeah?’ Jim had stilled so they could both adjust. ‘Just wait till I start using it properly.’

That made Ross smile, even as he shifted to brace himself against the counter.

‘For what?’ he laughed. ‘Are you going to stick it all the way in?’ he shivered. ‘Fuck, I want it. I want you to fuck me so deep that I…’

He never got to finish the sentence because Jim chose that precise moment to pull out and then slam back in and Ross went face first into the counter, gasping as pleasure flooded all his senses.

‘Fuck, yeah…’ Jim was also laughing. ‘Christ, you feel incredible.’ He ran one hand down Ross’ back to his hip and dug his fingers in. ‘I am going to fuck you stupid.’ He leaned forward enough to lick up Ross spine. ‘Again.’

‘Yes.’ Ross tightened his grip on the edge of the counter, moving his feet further apart. ‘Fucking do it.’

That was all the encouragement Jim needed. He started to drive in hard and fast and Ross pushed back, shifting position so Jim’s cock nailed him head on as he went deep on every thrust. It was blindingly good and he was vaguely aware that he was yelling and so was Jim.

A resounding smack on his backside caught him by surprise though and this time Ross did go face first into the counter, thumping his head.

‘Shit!’ Jim started to pull out and Ross knew he couldn’t have that happen, even if he was now nursing a sore head and was pretty sure he would have a bruise there in an hour or two.

‘No!’ He was insistent. ‘Do not fucking stop or I will fucking kill you!’

‘Okay, it’s your funeral.’ Jim chuckled and sped up again. From there it was only a little while longer until one particularly deep thrust made Ross actually scream out loud as his orgasm overtook him and he came so hard it was like he’d gone deaf and blind for a few seconds.

‘Jesus…’ Jim spat out the word and ploughed in all the way, jerking as he followed. He stayed there, buried all the way inside Ross as he came. Ross panted, letting the endorphins surging through his bloodstream cancel out the pain in his head.

They stayed like that, slowly coming down enough for Jim to ease out of him and take off the condom. Then Ross felt gentle hands lifting him up so Jim could inspect his forehead.

‘Wow.’ His blue-green eyes were hazy but concerned. ‘That’s going to be quite the bump.’

That made Ross laugh out loud and he more or less fell into Jim’s arms.

‘Can I keep you?’ he murmured into Jim’s neck and felt him smile.

'Yes, you definitely can.' he replied and kissed Ross softly on the mouth. 'In fact I think I am going to insist on it.'

********

Lunch ended up being consumed largely in stages. This was because after the kitchen counter they moved to the living and back on the sofa, then off the sofa and then back into the bedroom.

Now they were on the cheesecake again.

Jim was on his stomach, his plate on the floor at the foot of the bed. He was making very sexual noises as Ross fucked him, thrusting in and out slowly while Jim ate his cheesecake.

‘You could at least pay attention.’ he grumbled and Jim huffed a laugh and ignored him.

Needless to say, Ross did not go home.


End file.
